A rather an intriguing list came to our attention on Friday, shortly after Jordan Henderson was announced as both Liverpool’s new captain and the cover star of the UK edition of FIFA 16.
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The list in question revealed the total number of goals and assists – combined – made by every Premier League midfielder over the last five seasons. However, goals and assists from set pieces are NOT included.
We’ve ranked the top ten for you below. Take a look through and you might be surprised where our new skipper ends up…
10) Ramires (Chelsea) – 22
The Brazilian has been a solid enough performer for the Blues over the last few years and has benefited from that consistency. He’s not been a regular under Jose Mourinho but he can still be relied on to chip in when needed.
9) Mark Noble (West Ham) – 23
The Hammers’ academy graduate can always be relied on to chip in with a goal here and there. He’s remained a loyal servant to the London club and is always one of their most impressive performers each season.
8) Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool) – 25
He might have only been a Premier League player for two-and-a-half-years but the little magician has already had a huge impact – not just on Liverpool, but on the top flight as a whole. Imagine where he’ll be in a couple of years…
7) Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal / Chelsea) – 27
The Spaniard has been an infuriatingly good player and makes this list despite spending three of the last five years at Barcelona. He really made the difference for the Blues this season and helped guide them to the league title.
6) Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) – 27
Liverpool’s now former captain rarely failed to do the business for us. While a lot of his goals came from penalties and free-kicks in his latter years he still chipped in with the odd screamer here and there, earning him sixth spot.
5) James Morrison (West Brom) – 32
A bit of a wildcard this. The Scottish international has been a steady performer for Albion down the years and his statistics have slowly crept up as well. I bet you would’t have guessed he was going to be on this list, would you?
4) Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) – 38
The Welshman is feeling the benefits of his excellent 2013-14 Premier League season, which included ten goals and a fair share of assists. While he didn’t quite match those standards this year he was already well up the list.
3) Frank Lampard (Chelsea / Manchester City) – 43
Even in his latter years our old nemesis has been in fine form. He did a decent job while with City last season, chipping in with a handful of goals, but it’s his time with Chelsea that will always be best remembered.
2) Jordan Henderson (Sunderland / Liverpool) – 43
Who would have thought it? The second most prolific midfield player from open play in the Premier League… let’s hope we see more of the same from him next year as he justifies the armband and the FIFA cover vote!
1) Yaya Toure (Manchester City) – 64
A predictable ending to this list at least. There have been few better players on the planet over the last five years than Yaya Toure, who probably dragged his team to the title single-handedly last year, when we cruelly missed out.
Click to the final page to see a breakdown of the top twenty players…
Here’s the list in full…
