Bruno Fernandes is on the verge of Premier League history. The Manchester United midfielder reached 20 assists for the season during Sunday's 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest, pulling level with two of the competition's most celebrated creative forces — and he still has one match left to make the record entirely his own.

The record Fernandes has matched

Twenty Premier League assists in a single season has been achieved only twice before. Thierry Henry was the first to reach that landmark, setting it during Arsenal's 2002-03 campaign while also contributing 24 goals. Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne then matched it in 2019-20, a season remembered as one of the finest individual midfield performances the league has seen.

Fernandes is now level with both. One assist in United's final game of the season stands between him and outright ownership of the record.

How his season has unfolded

It was not an instant start. Fernandes did not register his first assist until the eighth week of the campaign, leaving him with considerable ground to make up. Since that point, however, he has been relentless — maintaining an assist-per-game ratio of 0.69 through the remainder of the season, a figure that has put the rest of the Premier League firmly in the shade.

His closest competitor this term is Manchester City's Rayan Cherki, sitting eight assists behind. The gap underlines just how dominant Fernandes has been in the creative stakes across 2025-26.

What this means for his United legacy

The milestone adds further weight to a career at Old Trafford that has been defined by consistent delivery in the final third despite the turbulence around the club. His total for United across all competitions now stands at 104 assists — a number that will only grow as long as he remains the heartbeat of their attacking play.

In the Premier League's all-time assists chart, Fernandes currently sits 19th on 71. That puts him a significant distance from the outright record, which belongs to former United winger Ryan Giggs. Giggs accumulated 162 Premier League assists during his career at Old Trafford — a tally that remains unchallenged at the top of the list. Kevin De Bruyne is the closest any active or recent player has come, registering 119 across his time with Chelsea and Manchester City.

Fernandes has 92 assists to find before he troubles Giggs's all-time mark, and the market will have its own view on whether he can reach it. But the immediate question is simpler and more pressing: can he find one more in the final game of the season and write his name into the record books alone?

The bigger picture

Whichever way Sunday ends, this campaign has already established Fernandes among the elite creators in Premier League history. To equal what Henry produced in that brilliant Arsenal side, and what De Bruyne achieved in his peak City season, is no small thing. The noises out of Old Trafford suggest the player himself is focused entirely on getting that one final contribution — and few would bet against him.

Frequently asked

Who has the most assists in a single Premier League season?
The record stands at 20 assists in a single Premier League season, a tally reached by Thierry Henry for Arsenal in 2002-03 and Kevin De Bruyne for Manchester City in 2019-20. Bruno Fernandes has now equalled that mark in 2025-26 with one game still to play.
Who has the most Premier League assists of all time?
Ryan Giggs holds the all-time Premier League assists record with 162. Kevin De Bruyne is the closest challenger on 119, while Bruno Fernandes currently sits 19th on the all-time list with 71 Premier League assists.
How many assists does Bruno Fernandes have in total for Manchester United?
Fernandes has recorded 104 assists for Manchester United across all competitions. In the Premier League alone he has 71 assists, placing him 19th on the competition's all-time list.