Bruno Fernandes reigns supreme on for chance creation in all of Europe in 23-24

There are few more impressive roles in football than that of a creative wizard, a player with the intelligence and technical ability to play passes that break through the opposition defences.

Taking a look through the number of chances created is usually illustrative of the best playmakers around, and this season is no different with star names from Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Arsenal featuring near the top.

Here are the top 10 players across Europe’s top five leagues (the Premier League, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, La Liga and Serie A) for key passes – the final pass before a team-mate takes a shot at goal. We’re counting them in order of their total key passes.

10. Kevin Stoger – 63

The Austrian midfielder is having himself a decent season for Bochum, who are punching above their weight to sit comfortably midtable in the Bundesliga.

He recently caught the eye with an excellent display in Bochum’s surprise 3-2 victory over Bayern, notching a goal and an assist to take his overall tally to five and six for the season.

9. Martin Odegaard – 64

Arsenal – and by extension their playmaker captain – were often criticised in the first half of the season for not looking at their free-flowing best.

That’s all changed in recent weeks, with Mikel Arteta’s Gunners winning all five of their league outings in 2024 in style, scoring 11 goals in their last two. Once again Odegaard has been making them click – as evidenced by him shooting up the key passes rankings.

8. Romain Del Castillo – 64

Brest have been something of a surprise package in Ligue 1 this season. They currently sit second in the table and look genuinely capable of beating the likes of Monaco, Marseille and Lille to Champions League qualification.

A huge part of their strong season has been the form of right winger Del Castillo, who has five goals, five assists and 64 key passes from his first 12 appearances this season.

7. Iago Aspas – 64

Premier League watchers will only remember that infamous corner, but those who keep abreast of La Liga will tell you that Celta Vigo’s homegrown hero Aspas has genuinely been up there with Spanish football’s standout individuals over the past half decade.

Aspas might be 36 but he shows no sign of slowing down, and is as important as ever following the departure of his wonderkid successor Gabri Veiga.

Rafael Benitez has faced pressure as the club’s manager after a string of iffy results, but his strategy of leaning heavily on their talisman is not a bad one. Aspas has registered 64 key passes and notched three goals and four assists for his struggling side so far this season.

“Aspas is a kid who likes football, here he is an idol and he can bring us that quality,” Benitez said after being appointed Celta boss.

“I send you a message: you have to be smart and take advantage of quality moments, not think about quantity.”

6. Leroy Sane – 66

The winger always looked destined to become one of the best players in the world during his early days at Manchester City. Injury issues knocked him off course for a while but he’s thriving playing alongside Harry Kane this season.

“For our style of play it’s important that we have a real No. 9,” Sane said in September.

“But Harry also drops deep so that we can rotate well. I love moving from attacking midfield up front with pace — it’s worked well with Harry a few times and with more games and training sessions it can definitely get better.”

Not only has he been exceptional with his creative passing, but he’s also been Europe’s top dribbler this season.

Bayern might be enduring a massively disappointing season, but Sane is looking as good as he has in years.

5. Pascal Gross – 67

Signed by Brighton for a £3million fee following their promotion in 2017, Gross has consistently been among the Seagulls’ performers throughout their time in the Premier League.

Ageing like a fine wine, Gross just seems to get better and better. He received his first Germany cap at the age of 32 earlier this season and looks a solid bet for their Euro 2024 squad after establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s most creative players.

4. Ilkay Gundogan – 67

Gundogan probably didn’t envisage himself sitting eight points off Real Madrid at this stage of the season – staring down a trophyless season – when he left treble-winners Manchester City for La Liga champions Barcelona last summer.

The experienced Germany international has quietly been an underrated creative spark for Xavi’s ailing side.

3. Isco – 68

After spending his final years at Real Madrid as a bench warmer who rarely made an appearance, the playmaker moved to Sevilla last summer with hope of rekindling his career. But things didn’t quite go to plan as he terminated his contract in December and spent the remainder of last season without a club.

Now he’s back in the city of Seville once again, with his former club’s fierce rivals Real Betis, and making a much more successful go of a renaissance this time around.

Manuel Pellegrini’s Verdiblancos are something of a mixed bag this season but Isco has been wonderful to watch.

2. Teji Savanier – 69

A relatively lesser-known name from Ligue 1, 31-year-old Savanier is currently enjoying the form of his life for hometown club Montpellier.

Montpellier have a poor record and just four wins so far but Savanier has been their brightest spark. He’s found himself regularly scoring and assisting, while his total tally of key passes is only bettered by one man in all of Europe’s five major leagues

1. Bruno Fernandes – 72

It would be an understatement to say that Manchester United’s form has been up and down so far this season, but Fernandes’ creative class remains a constant.

The Portuguese playmaker has often been at the heart of everything good that the Red Devils have managed going forward in 2023-24 so far.

He’s played almost every minute of the club’s campaign so far and notched 55 key passes, while he underlined his creative ability with a hat-trick of assists for Portugal in a 9-1 mauling over Luxembourg back in October.