Jamie Redknapp has snubbed a host of players from his former club Liverpool to choose Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne as his Premier League player of the season.
Man City have been unable to keep pace with Liverpool on a team basis this term, going into the coronavirus-enforced shutdown trailing Jurgen Klopp's champions-elect by 25 points.
However, De Bruyne has directly contributed to more goals than any other player this term - including registering 17 assists - and Redknapp believes that the Belgian is the best passer in Premier League history.
"There have been some outstanding performances this season. But Kevin De Bruyne has been absolutely outstanding. His statistics this year have been his best ever, and if the rest of the City side had been as consistent as him, they'd probably be in contention with Liverpool," Redknapp told Sky Sports News.
"For me, De Bruyne's assists and goals really make him stand out for me. His numbers are just far and away better than anyone else's. If it does go to somebody outside of the Liverpool team, he is the only person you can really mention, because he has been that good, and has shone like a star in that City side at the moment.
"I would say he's the best Premier League passer I've seen, and that's including David Beckham, Paul Scholes, all of them, because he has the variation of passing. If we finish the season, he will break Thierry Henry's assist record 20."
De Bruyne leads the way in a number of passing metrics in the Premier League this season, including most assists, chances created, big chances created, successful passes into the final third and successful crosses and corners.