As we all know defenders are supposed to stop goals not to make them, yet these 6 players with Leighton Baines have been supportive for their respective sides in terms of creating assists within the Premier League era.
The list of six EPL defenders with the most assists herein are defenders utilized in the full back role, it’s obvious that their forward play down the flank allowed them to set up assists for their teammates more than any other defenders in the history of the division.
Here are the six highest assisting defenders in Premier League history…
Gary Neville
Number of Premier League assists: 35
Not widely known for his offensive abilities, Gary Neville’s pure endurance as part of Manchester United’s back line has put the former England international into sixth position. He was a regular start for Manchester United for nearly two decades, Neville had a record of 35 assists by the time he hung up his boots and said his farewell to football in 2011.
Ian Harte
Number of Premier League assists: 36
Joining in the fifth place is another dependable left back, Ian Harte. The retired Republic of Ireland is also one of the highest scoring defenders in the Premier League, but he was equally successful in creating chances for others too.
He had eight appearances for Sunderland in the 2007/08 season and notched 18 appearances for Reading six seasons later. Ian Harte spent all of his days in the Premier League with Leeds United.
Harte now works as an agent, assisting player with their dealings. Quite impressive, right
Andy Hinchcliffe
Number of Premier League assists: 36
Andy Hinchcliffe remarkably had a lot of assists in the Premier League, despite bringing it all to end in 2002. He was brilliant at the left-back, registering seven caps for the England national side. He played for a trio of top flight in the league with: Manchester City, Everton and Sheffield Wednesday.
However, he had already been shipped out of Maine Road to join Everton by the time the Premier League came into existence.
Antonio Valencia
Number of Premier League assists: 38
At one point in time, I would argue that the Ecuadorian international is more of a winger, but Antonio Valencia has been deployed as a full back for the past few season at Manchester United and thus nailed his place in this list with 38 assists. He was signed from Wigan Athletic in 2009, the 31-year-old has been part of the Red Devils’ first team plans ever since
Graeme Le Saux
Number of Premier League assists: 44
A Premier League winner in 1995 with Blackburn Rovers, Graeme Le Saux was a reliable starter and a distributer of the ball from the left flank and his offensive ability convinced Chelsea to re-sign their former academy graduate for £5m in 1997, which made him the most expensive defender in English football at the time.
Leighton Baines
Number of Premier League assists: 50
The first defender ever to reach the milestone of half a century of Premier League assists, Leighton Baines is statistically one of the best in the history of the division. The one-time England regular has only ever featured for Wigan Athletic and Everton in the top flight, and it was with the Toffees last weekend where Baines took his tally to 50.