De Bruyne 'controls the pitch' better than Gerrard or Lampard ever did, claims ex-Prem star

dailystar.co.uk:

Manchester City ace Kevin De Bruyne controls the pitch better than England legends Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard did in their playing days, according to ex-goalkeeper David James.But James, 52, stopped short of labelling De Bruyne a better player than his former midfield counterparts as the Belgium international has had the luxury of playing on modern pitches - which Gerrard and Lampard missed out on before they both went into management.

Gerrard's gone onto take the reins at Aston Villa since hanging up his boots, while Lampard's trying his luck in Everton's dugout.Plus, James reckons De Bruyne's benefitted by having the likes of ex-City striker Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus - who moved to Arsenal in the summer, and new goal-scoring phenomenon Erling Haaland up front to finish off his assists.

And its the aforementioned trio's prowess infront of goal that's put De Bruyne ahead of Gerrard and Lampard in the all-time Premier League assists rankings, James thinks.READ MORE: Man City leapfrog Barcelona to become second largest football brand as Man Utd fallDe Bruyne recently overtook Gerrard in the Prem assist rankings when he setup team-mate Jack Grealish for City's first goal in their 3-0 win over Wolves.

It was the 31-year-old's sixth assist in seven Prem games this season, and 92nd in 217 appearances in the top-tier division.Former Liverpool anchorman Gerrard only managed to reach the same amount of assists in 504 Prem games - which is 287 more matches than De Bruyne took to reach the milestone.