Ederson Sets New Premier League Record for Most Goalkeeper Assists

Posted on by footybet
Paul Ederson
Paul Ederson (Credit Brad Tutterow via Wikipedia)

One of the first really big decisions Pep Guardiola took as Man City boss was to axe England goalkeeper Joe Hart. It puzzled many fans and pundits, because Hart was a superb goalie and playing the best football of his career. He was well-established as England’s number one and seemingly at his peak. However, Pep had a vision of football that was radically different from anything we had seen before in England. Hart was a brilliant shot-stopper, confident in collecting crosses and a good organiser. By most definitions, certainly traditional ones, he was an excellent all-round goalkeeper.

But Guardiola, who had worked with Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich, did not have a traditional opinion about what was required from a goalie. For the former Barca star, the keeper also had to be excellent with the ball at their feet. They should be comfortable receiving the ball in the face of an onrushing attacker and, more than that, be able to instigate attacks. It took Guardiola a little time to find his man but in the summer of 2017, City signed Ederson for a fee of around £35m. The sum paid to Benfica made him the second most expensive goalkeeper in the world at the time – behind Gianluigi Buffon. It has proved to be an incredible bargain, and one of Pep’s best signings at City.

Ederson may or may not be Brazil’s best goalkeeper – he has battled Liverpool’s Alisson for the national jersey – but he is undoubtedly one of the very best in the world and has been for almost a decade now. Ederson only has 29 caps for his country compared to Alisson’s 71, but for City he has been magnificent.

Ederson: King of the Assists


The man from Osasco is a brilliant all-round goalkeeper and is excellent with his gloves. He is a superb shot-stopper, good in one-one-ones, excellent at collecting high balls, and simultaneously both quick and agile, and commanding and dominant. But he is perhaps the best goalkeeper of all time when it comes to his ability on the ball.

In 2018, Shay Given, previously City’s goalkeeper, described Ederson as “the best goalkeeper in the world with his feet” and it is hard to dispute that. Jordan Pickford is often lauded for his ability to hit long, accurate passes but comparing him to Ederson is like comparing Kalvin Phillips to Rodri. That is probably a harsher comparison than intended but Ederson is certainly a cut above almost everyone in the world in terms of his range of passing, let alone Pickford.

Former Goalkeeper Assist Record Holders

Paul Robinson (in green)
Paul Robinson, in green (Credit Clare Nolan via Flickr)

Now he has the stats to back it up too, with the Brazilian ace now the Premier League record holder for assists by a goalkeeper. He was the first Man City goalie ever to register a Premier League assist when he hit a long goal kick through to Sergio Aguero in August 2018, the Argentine slotting home against Huddersfield.

Paul Robinson

Since then he has provided five more, his six assists in the Premier League meaning he has one more than England’s Paul Robinson. The old quote about lies, damn lies and statistics springs to mind when one looks at the names behind Ederson on the goalkeeper’s assists list. Someone who knew little about football might assume that players such as Robinson, David Seaman, Mark Crossley and Tim Howard were also cultured stoppers who loved the ball at their feet and were capable of pinging accurate 60-yard passes with just a hint of fade.

Such assumptions would be wrong though, and in fact they are just goalkeepers who played a lot of Premier League games and had a very powerful kick! Most of the other assist-providing goalkeepers, with the odd exception such as Alisson (three assists), were not, generally at least, spraying brilliant, accurate passes, but simply belting the ball as far downfield as they could. They just happened to get lucky with the bounce of the ball, or have the good fortune to play with excellent strikers who turned their clearances into assists.

Jussi Jääskeläinen

Jussi Jääskeläinen, who also features in the top five for assists, is sixth in terms of Premier League appearances by a goalkeeper, with 436. Howard is eighth with 399, Robinson 12th (374), Seaman 15th (344), whereas Ederson produced his record-breaking sixth PL assist in his 266th game.

The Brazilian has also broken the record for the most assists in a single season and may yet add to that. He has recorded three in 2024/25, the record sixth (and third for the campaign), coming against Newcastle when he flighted a ball perfectly for Omar Marmoush. Ederson is helped by having the pace and power of a certain Erling Haaland to aim for, as well as, now, Marmoush, but there can be no doubting the quality of his passing. Three of his goal involvements have, indeed, been with Haaland. We have already mentioned his first, for Aguero, whilst he has also assisted Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling in the Champions League and, of course, Marmoush.

Ederson’s Long-Range Passes

If you want to see for yourself just how impressive Ederson’s long-range passes are, you can check out his magnificent seven City assists (including one in the Champions League) on the Man City site. The first came, as said, in 2018, with another in the 2018/19 Champions League, then the Premier League in 2020/21, 2022/23 and then the incredible three that he has already managed in 2024/25.

Clearly, playing with attackers such as Haaland has helped Ederson, but when one watches the assists back, it is striking just how fantastic many of the passes are. The Brazilian has incredible technique too, making it look so easy, despite the ball often flying 60 yards or more. The pass is often made by slightly cutting across the ball, helping it land relatively softly and making it easy for the attacker to run onto. By his own admission, this sort of play was always well beyond Hart, who managed just a single assist in his 340 Premier League appearances.

The big question now is how many more assists can Ederson add to his tally, both this season and during his City career. With Marmoush now providing another attacking option for Pep, Premier League defences will be tasked with covering both the Egyptian and Haaland. That may well create space for one or the other and we certainly don’t rule out the groundbreaking goalkeeper laying on more goals for his colleagues in 2024/25.