Former Manchester City goalkeeper David James has sung the praises of Kevin de Bruyne.

De Bruyne recently overtook Steven 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.

When asked about De Bruyne overtaking former Liverpool teammate Gerrard, James told the Games Cabin: "It's unfair to say he's better than Steven Gerrard because they haven't played on the same pitches. The conditions we had to play in 15 years ago were different to the more modern pitches that Kevin De Bruyne is used to.

"Kevin De Bruyne has had the best team in England to play with, so whether it's been Erling Haaland, Sergio Agüero or Gabriel Jesus, then those are some very good forwards to finish off the chances you create for them. When Kevin De Bruyne is on his game, then he's incredible.

"It's like the game is played at his tempo. I can't remember Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard controlling the whole pitch like Kevin does. They both, however, possessed a high level of ball control, passing ability, and they scored a lot of goals between them.

"Kevin De Bruyne paroles that pitch, and when he's on it, Manchester City scores lots of goals and wins football matches so often. I don't want to say that one player's better than the other, but in the modern game, you're not going to find a better midfielder than Kevin De Bruyne at the moment."