Top 5 Premier League Outfield Players Who Have Played The Most Minutes In 2023

David Tully

5 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

In today’s post, we will be looking at the Premier League players who have played the most minutes since the beginning of 2023.

We have not included goalkeepers in this list as it is not that uncommon for shot-stoppers to play every single minute for their clubs.

It is, however, more unusual for outfield players to play consistently, as they are more liable to pick up injuries.

Press the next page as we name the 5 Premier League stars who have stayed on the pitch for the most minutes this year (data from CIES Football Observatory).

5) Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – 4782 minutes

Considering how prolific the Norwegian international is in front of goal, you can’t blame manager Pep Guardiola for picking the striker at every conceivable opportunity.

Haaland’s goal total during his first year with City was ridiculous. He broke the Premier League all-time record, scoring 36 goals in 35 appearances.

The 22-year-old has continued to flourish in his second campaign at the Etihad, having already hit the back of the net 19 times in all competitions.

Haaland had a minor injury scare last month, when he injured his ankle against Bournemouth, but he returned to play in the subsequent match against Young Boys, which means he has not missed a single match due to fitness problems so far this season.

4) Declan Rice (West Ham & Arsenal) – 4871 minutes

The 24-year-old played a key role in helping West Ham win the Europa Conference League last season, and he was rarely left out of the first eleven for both domestic and European fixtures.

Following Rice’s £105m move to Arsenal in the summer, he has continued to play every 3 or 4 days, with the Gunners currently involved in 4 competitions.

Since making the switch to the Emirates, manager Mikel Arteta has only left Rice out of the team on two occasions, both times in the Carabao Cup.

Ironically, one of those matches was against his former club West Ham, which Arsenal lost 3-1.

3) Rodri (Manchester City) – 4964 minutes

It’s quite a remarkable statistic that City have not won when the Spaniard has been absent this season, but they are unbeaten when he is in the starting lineup.

After the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Wednesday night, Guardiola said that his team must “find a way to win” football matches without Rodri.

However, you can guarantee that, following his one-match suspension, the midfielder will be back in the team when City face Luton Town on Sunday.

Rodri is clearly indispensable in terms of the way that Guardiola wants to play, so it is not a surprise that he has played so many minutes in 2023.

2) Manuel Akanji (Manchester City) – 5049 minutes

There were plenty of raised eyebrows when the Premier League champions recruited the Swiss international from Borussia Dortmund last year.

Akanji appeared to be running down his contract and his club were seemingly not interested in renewing it.

However, after City signed the 28-year-old for just £15m, Guardiola has used him regularly, having deployed the player in a number of different positions.

In his 67 appearances for the Cityzens, Akanji has started at centre-half, left-back, right-back and as a holding midfielder.

1) Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) – 5748 minutes

The Portuguese international has not only played the most minutes of any Premier League outfield player, but he also tops the list among teams in the whole of Europe.

It does demonstrate how reliant United are on their club captain that he plays so often, despite the resources available.

The Red Devils have spent countless millions recruiting midfielders over the past year but it seems manager Erik ten Hag is extremely reluctant to take him out of the starting eleven.

To give credit where credit is due, though, Fernandes has performed very well for the most part, and it also shows how rarely the Portuguese international gets injured.