Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne is already the best passer the Premier League has ever seen... plus find out who makes my Team of the Week

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The Premier League has been blessed with players capable of defence-splitting passes.

Cesc Fabregas has that long, quarter-back pass he has used to superb effect to set up Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and now Alvaro Morata.

Frank Lampard had a great understanding with Didier Drogba, setting up 24 of his 104 Premier League goals — a record number of assists for a pair of players.

Kevin De Bruyne has already proven to be the best passer of the ball in Premier League history

Dennis Bergkamp had a sublime weight of pass and was so unselfish. It’s little wonder Thierry Henry says he was the best he played with.

But in Kevin De Bruyne we have a midfielder whose passing is on another level. His range is the best I have seen. The slide-rule pass to play in a team-mate, the cute reverse passes, the sweeping cross-field balls — there is nothing the Manchester City midfielder cannot do.

His numbers speak for themselves: joint-most assists in the Premier League this season (eight), most chances created (56), most passes in the opposition half (1,035). When I spoke to De Bruyne last month, he said assists were more special to him than goals... but that has not stopped him scoring six!

The Belgian playmaker has proved adept at flourishing in every part of the attacking game

Top 10: Redknapp's Premier League passers

The difference with De Bruyne is his bravery. He plays without fear in the final third. 

He does not need to worry about whether his pass will be completed because he has such belief in his team-mates. 

Look at the brilliant, first-time pass he played to Leroy Sane against Tottenham. De Bruyne barely looks up — he just knows Sane will get on the end of it.

In Pep Guardiola, De Bruyne has a manager who is not afraid to let his players take risks. The emphasis is on getting him and David Silva into positions to create chances.

De Bruyne is also indebted to Fernandinho, who shields the defence to give City’s creative geniuses the platform on which to shine.

My favourite weapon in De Bruyne’s arsenal is his slide-rule pass. It was a quality I admired when I played against Eyal Berkovic, and it’s why he makes my list of the Premier League’s best defence- splitting passers.

How are England going to stop De Bruyne at the World Cup? Eric Dier and Harry Winks could not contain him in Tottenham’s 4-1 defeat at the Etihad. The problem with Belgium is who to mark. If you man-mark him, Eden Hazard might get space.

The confidence is oozing from De Bruyne. England will be fearful of facing him in Russia in the summer.

England should be fearful of facing De Bruyne at next summer's World Cup in Russia

First he failed to celebrate scoring against Bournemouth, now Romelu Lukaku has done it again at West Brom. I just do not get why the striker is not celebrating. What is he complaining about? 

Is he expecting people to be saying that he has been amazing when that has not been the case? 

There are few better feelings in football than scoring a goal and Lukaku has to enjoy these moments. Manchester United are looking like a team with the weight of the world on their shoulders right now.

Romelu Lukaku again refused to celebrate his goal for Manchester United on Sunday

Falling Cherries

I am starting to worry about Bournemouth. They have won just nine league games in 2017, with only West Bromwich Albion having won fewer. 

I love how they play but they gave Liverpool an early Christmas present yesterday. To stop Jurgen Klopp’s side you have to make life difficult for them, as Everton and West Brom did last week. 

Bournemouth set up far too open and were punished. They have enough to avoid relegation — but they have got to be careful.

Only West Brom have garnered fewer than Bournemouth's nine Premier League wins in 2017

What an excellent week for Roy Hodgson and Crystal Palace. After a sensational comeback victory over Watford in midweek, they scored their first away goals in an emphatic 3-0 win at Leicester.

Hodgson deserves immense credit for how he has managed Christian Benteke this week. I wrote in my last column that Benteke may have to apologise after he insisted on taking a match-winning penalty against Bournemouth, which he promptly missed.

After accepting his apology, Hodgson kept faith with the forward and was rewarded when he scored his first goal since May in Saturday’s win at the King Power Stadium.

Hodgson has got Palace well organised and has made them hard to beat. They are now unbeaten in seven, keeping clean sheets in three of those games. Even when Palace were rock bottom I maintained their squad was too talented to go down — particularly with Wilfried Zaha fit and firing.

Some of the things Zaha was doing on the ball at Leicester were unbelievable. He is the best player outside the big six clubs and it is vital Hodgson keeps hold of him next month.

Some of the things Wilfried Zaha did with the ball against Leicester were simply unbelievable

Why not swap Coutinho for Luis Suarez? 

Philippe Coutinho was sensational for Liverpool at Bournemouth. The Reds should enjoy him while they can before Barcelona come calling again in the summer. 

Even if Liverpool receive in excess of the £138million Barcelona bid last summer, there are few like-for-like players they can buy — while bringing in a number of players is not always the best option. Instead, Liverpool should ask Barcelona to swap Coutinho for Luis Suarez. 

The striker has not been as prolific as in recent seasons and the Liverpool fans would love a returning hero. It would be a great move for both the club and the Premier League.

If Philippe Coutinho is to join Barcelona, Liverpool should ask for Luis Suarez in return