Will Bruno set a new club record?

Yesterday, we discussed who might finish as the Reds’ top scorer – with five players in realistic contention.

There’s no doubt that Bruno Fernandes will get the most assists, but just how many goals can our Portuguese magnifico lay on for his team-mates across the campaign?

He’s currently on 14 assists and, while the all-time Premier League record of 20 – shared by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne – looks a stretch, the club milestone for the division is within tantalising reach.

Bruno requires just one more assist from our final nine fixtures to match the mark of 15, which was set by David Beckham over the course of 31 appearances during the 1999/2000 season.

Becks’ role in our previous Treble-winning campaign is well-documented but he was arguably even more influential as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side romped to a second straight title, finishing 18 points ahead of Arsenal.

The future England captain was recognised in the PFA Team of the Year, although he was once again overlooked for the most prized individual honours, with Roy Keane sweeping the awards board at the end of term.

Although league success is sadly beyond us, Fernandes is surely within a shout for personal recognition, after managing his current assists tally in just 26 games.

Remarkably, his first didn’t come until our seventh outing, for Harry Maguire at Liverpool, meaning he’s not far from averaging an assist for every game he's played (20) since mid-October.

His latest, for Casemiro in the defeat to Newcastle, drew him level with our second-highest mark of the Premier League era, set by compatriot Nani during 2010/11.

It’s all a natural part of the way Fernandes approaches the game, according to head coach Michael Carrick.

“Records are there to be broken. It’s not one for chasing,” he said, prior to the game on Tyneside.

“I think if he keeps making the right decisions and putting himself in the right position, it [overtaking Beckham] will hopefully happen at some point.

“All of his goals and assists, when you go chasing it, it becomes a thing, so you’ve just got to trust him and let things happen.”

Below is the list of Premier League season tallies still higher than Bruno’s current level – how far up will our no.8 be stationed come May?

20

Thierry Henry (2002/03)
Kevin De Bruyne (2019/20)

19

Mesut Ozil (2015/16)

18

Frank Lampard (2004/05)
Cesc Fabregas (2014/15)
Mohamed Salah (2024/25)

17

Cesc Fabregas (2007/08)
Kevin De Bruyne (2016/17)

16

Eric Cantona (1992/93)*+
Kevin De Bruyne (2017/18)
Kevin De Bruyne (2022/23)

15

Matt Le Tissier (1994/95)*
Steve McManaman (1995/96)
Nolberto Solano (1999/2000)
David Beckham (1999/2000)
Robert Pires (2001/02)
David Silva (2011/12)
Christian Eriksen (2016/17)
Leroy Sane (2017/18)
Eden Hazard (2018/19)

*Set during a 42-game season
+Cantona registered five assists for Leeds