Top 5 Fastest Players In The Premier League This Season

David Tully

3 months ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester City News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Brentford, Brighton, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Southampton, spurs, West Ham, wolves

Pace is an important attribute to have as a footballer. As a forward, it can help you beat your opponent in a one-on-one duel. As a defender, it can prove invaluable in a foot race to recover the ball.

The Premier League only started officially keeping speed stats for individual players at the beginning of the 2020/21 season.

Interestingly enough, 7 of the top 10 have been recorded this campaign, which suggests that the speed of the English top flight is increasing.

Press the next page as we look at the five quickest players in the Premier League this season.

5) Dara O’Shea (Burnley) – 36.73 km/h v Crystal Palace

The Republic of Ireland international was signed from West Brom for £7m last summer.

O’Shea has been a regular starter since his arrival at Turf Moor, being named in the lineup for 18 of their 23 league games so far.

Despite playing as a centre-back, he has got himself three assists, which demonstrates he is prepared to get forward.

However, even though O’Shea is one of the quickest defenders in the Premier League, he hasn’t been able to stop the Clarets from shipping goals.

4) Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) – 36.76 km/h v Wolves

The Hungarian international has turned heads with his performances since moving from RB Leipzig for £60m.

Szoboszlai is a central midfield player but he is a strong ball carrier, gliding past opponents with his strength and pace.

However, it has caused him some trouble recently, having picked a succession of hamstring injuries.

The Reds will be keen to have Szoboszlai back in contention as quickly as possible so he can play a role in their title challenge.

3) Pedro Neto (Wolves) – 36.86 km/h v Luton Town

Not many will be shocked by the Portuguese international’s inclusion in our top five.

Neto has the speed to skin most fullbacks in the Premier League and it has allowed him to contribute 3 goals and 10 assists so far this campaign.

Like Szoboszlai, the 23-year-old has not been free of injury, but muscular problems come with the territory when you rely so much on your pace.

If Neto stays fit between now and the end of the season, he is likely to be subject of bids from bigger clubs.

2) Chiedozie Ogbene (Luton) – 36.93 km/h v Fulham

The 26-year-old has caught the eye whilst playing for the Hatters in recent weeks.

Ogbene does have pace to burn but his end product does leave a lot to be desired at times, having scored just twice and provided one assist in 21 league games.

Luton boss Rob Edwards does get a lot of mileage out of using the Irishman, though, having deployed him on both wings and in central midfield.

If Ogbene could harness his speed slightly more effectively, he could make a career for himself at Premier League level.

1) Micky van de Ven (Tottenham) – 37.38 km/h v Brentford

Even before the Dutchman arrived in English football, he was known as one of the quickest defenders in the world.

Van de Ven now has the stats to prove it as his quickest speed against Brentford last month was not only the fastest recorded in the Premier League this season, but the fastest ever.

In that match, the centre-back averaged a speed of 10.38m per second, which is only slightly below what 100m record holder Usain Bolt (10.44m per second) can manage.

Of course, the difference is, Bolt can sustain the speed over a longer sprint, but that doesn’t take anything away from van de Ven, who clearly possesses remarkable pace.