The Premier League has always had a great affinity for foreign creators, though never have so many dazzled all on the same stage quite like they do today. A division that hypes itself as the best in the world, in entertainment value at least, has for quite some time been deprived of the very elite players to live up to that billing. But in one position they now feel virtually unrivalled: the No.10.

Just look at the Ballon d’Or shortlist. Only three players could be considered out-and-out No.10s, at least in a traditional sense: Philippe Coutinho, Kevin De Bruyne and Isco. There are others who blur the lines, like Lionel Messi and Paulo Dybala, though the fact that two of the three play in the Premier League is indicative of how accommodating the league has become for such creators – and perhaps how they have gone out of fashion in other countries.

Coutinho, chased by Barcelona for most of the summer, made the 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist (Picture: Getty)

Man City star De Bruyne was one of seven Premier League players to make the Ballon d’Or shortlist (Picture: Getty)

More interestingly still – and this is a given with something as subjective as the ranking of players – it could be argued that the duo of Coutinho and De Bruyne are not even English football’s best No.10s. Christian Eriksen is probably more intrinsic to the way Tottenham plays than Harry Kane, yet only the latter makes the 30-man shortlist, while David Silva continues to operate on a different plane to so many of the teams he comes up against.



Another exciting facet of the Premier League is the sheer variety of different types of No.10s, and often the way they play is the embodiment of their teams’ respective styles. Dele Alli is more of a second striker, an incredibly direct and efficient footballer much like the Tottenham side he plays in. De Bruyne and Silva are cerebral pass-masters, the very epitome of what their manager strives for on the pitch.


Having out-created his teammate De Bruyne, Silva might have expected to make the Ballon d’Or list (Picture: Getty)

Liverpool’s Coutinho is a tenacious and endlessly busy playmaker full of explosiveness, just as capable of unpicking the lock as blowing the door off its hinges entirely. Then there is World Cup winner Mesut Ozil, who has almost become the talisman of all Arsenal’s ails, a player whose undoubted brilliance is often overshadowed by his lethargic mannerisms. Even further down the table, the quality goes on: Gylfi Sigurdsson at Everton, Manuel Lanzini at West Ham.

But still, despite such a huge influx of quality as Premier League spending has spiralled out of control, the benchmark remains the same: David Silva. Before the season started, this campaign felt like a critical one for the Spaniard, perhaps even the beginning of the end.

Premier League assists 2017/18 David Silva (Man City) 6 Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Man Utd) 5 Matt Ritchie (Newcastle) 4 Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) 4 Sergio Aguero (Man City) 3 Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) 3 Kieran Trippier (Tottenham) 3 Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) 3 Share

Manchester City spent big again, with Pep Guardiola continuing to reshape his side and forging a younger, more dynamic team – one that presses harder and more intensely than Silva, who will be 32 in January, is used to or indeed perhaps capable of. The arrival of a namesake, Bernardo Silva, felt like such a threat to his position in the side that his new-look shaved head might have constituted the football equivalent of a mid-life crisis.

Yet he’s been magnificent. In pure numbers, the veteran is still showing his peers how it is done: he tops of the Premier League for both assists and chances created. His role has changed somewhat this season, almost pivoting with De Bruyne as the two take turns in being the more advanced.

Premier League chances created (open play) 2017/18 David Silva (Man City) 20 Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Man Utd) 16 Dele Alli (Tottenham) 15 Sergio Aguero (Man City) 14 Nathan Redmond (Southampton) 14 Share

At times he has dropped a little deeper, starting off moves and creating space for De Bruyne to gallop into. Against more proactive teams, such as Chelsea in his last league outing (though they were still rather negative), he has been the No.10, playing in behind City’s two frontmen. It was his darting run between the centre-backs that opened up a massive pocket of space at Stamford Bridge and allowed De Bruyne to fire in the winner.



All the time he is probing and getting on the ball, with Guardiola’s system – and the swirl of energy and movement that surrounds him – creating the perfect, deadly combination. As well as being lethal at unlocking defences in the final third, he is the player the rest of the City side look to, the heartbeat of all their intricate passing. No City player has averaged more passes per game, and only three players have attempted more across the entire league.

Guardiola and Silva are a match made in heaven, and they were very nearly at Barcelona together (Picture: Getty)

‘When I say I’m a lucky guy it’s because I was with Xavi, Andres Iniesta and now Silva,’ said Guardiola earlier this year. ‘All three are outstanding players. The first or second year I was at Barcelona, Unai Emery, who is now the PSG trainer, was there with Valencia. After the game he told me: “David Silva is the player for you, for Barcelona. Believe me, that is the player for Barcelona by far.” And he was so right. He’s special player but he was so expensive, so expensive.’

Maybe not that expensive in today’s market, though, having only cost £26 million. Since he left Valencia seven years ago, no Premier League player has recorded more assists over the same period. He is currently on 72, and at his present rate can overtake Thierry Henry up into sixth place in the all-time standings by the end of the season.

Since Silva swapped La Liga for the Premier League, no-one has registered more assists than him (Picture: Getty)

Silva has laid on six ‘big’ chances this season, the joint most alongside City teammate Sergio Aguero (Picture: Getty)

Yet, he almost – almost – gets lost when thinking about City’s recent history. He had no vowel-screeching Sergio Aguerooooo moment, no obvious Yaya Toure-style performances where he quite literally dragged the team to the win. Even in a recent goals compilation posted by City, Silva’s top three strikes came against West Ham, Blackpool and Hull City.

But he is still performing amazingly well, for club and country, and remains the pinnacle for the rest of the Premier League’s horde of other playmakers and No.10s to look up to. It also makes you wonder how good Silva, and perhaps even Barcelona, might have been had he linked up with Guardiola sooner. Despite all his achievements, he almost feels a little underrated – the pass before the assist, which he specialises in, so often goes unseen – but these evergreen performances will go a long way in reminding everyone of exactly how good he is. And how much we should cherish him while we still can.