Pace isn’t everything in football, but it certainly helps if you have it. Some players, like Sergio Busquets or Luka Modric, are so adept at using space to their advantage that they don’t require speed. Sadly, not everyone has access to such an ethereal sense of space and time. Some players depend on the burners to stay in the game. This is also true of the Premier League. There is an Adama Traore, a Road Runner who pings it past defenders and demonstrates to them a clean pair of heels, for every Joao Moutinho who appears to be plodding through treacle but can control the pace of a game just from his vision and awareness. Surprisingly, Traore doesn’t appear on the list of the Premier League’s top 10 quickest players.
10. Reiss Nelson (Arsenal)
Top speed: 36.07km/h
The youth product from Arsenal has only made 11 Premier League appearances this season, all of which came off the bench, but he has contributed to some crucial occasions. Given his limited opportunities, five direct scoring contributions isn’t terrible, with the standout being the illustrious last-second goal against Bournemouth. Another arrow in his quiver is his measured “top speed” of 36.07 km/h, which may help to explain why the club wants to sign him to a long-term contract.
9. Denis Zakaria (Chelsea)
Top speed: 36.09km/h
Denis Zakaria’s performance at Cobham didn’t quite go as planned, but his “top speed” of 36.09 km/h shouldn’t be discounted either. Only 10 players out of the 551 who played in the Premier League this season attained “top speeds” of 36 km/h or more. Zakaria belonged to this group. Graham Potter, who supports such a high-intensity approach, may have given the Juventus loanee more of a chance before Frank Lampard entirely shut him out, failing to include him in any of the previous seven matchday squads.
8. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Top speed: 36.22km/h
If you’re a defender in football, there are perhaps few sights more scary than Erling Haaland charging straight at you. The Norwegian has the scoring destruction to match his figurative brick outhouse construction. The ideal center-forward is all you need to do is add his lightning-fast speed. Success to Inter!
7. Matheus Nunes (Wolves)
Top speed: 36.32km/h
Matheus Nunes is a classy pacesetter who maintains a relentless pace; but, he is also deceptively quick. The Portugal international was the quickest center midfielder in the Premier League this season, clocking in at a peak speed of 36.32 kilometers per hour. You can’t help but assume that Nunes’ Rolls Royce engine would flourish in such a high-octane environment—Jurgen Klopp has apparently been a fan for a few seasons now.
6. Arnaut Danjuma (Tottenham)
Top speed: 36.34km/h
Another who hardly made an appearance is listed here. Arnaut Danjuma appeared to have been a wise acquisition for Spurs in January, but he only made one Premier League start. That occurred in their 3-1 loss to Brentford in their last game before he was completely ignored against Leeds on the final day. But while he was in north London, he managed to post the sixth-best “top speed” in the Premier League this season, so there’s that.
5. Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)
Top speed: 36.53km/h
Darwin Nunez had a somewhat inconsistent season, seeming elite and unstoppable in certain contests but remaining inconspicuous in others (shudders at early Andy Carroll analogies). The Uruguayan hot rod definitely has the burners to match his manager’s pushing demands, and fans will be hoping he can achieve consistent, elite-level heights under Jurgen Klopp next season. His ‘maximum speed’ is 36.53 km/h from 2022–2023.
4. Anthony Gordon (Newcastle)
Top speed: 36.61km/h
Anthony Gordon is as agile and vivacious as they come, so this one shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Allan Saint-Maximin (35.73 km/h) and Gordon are the only Newcastle players to crack the top 10 for “forwards,” reflecting the team’s quick ascent up the standings. Eddie Howe has a huge arsenal at his disposal, and they will put Champions League full-backs to the test the next season.
3. Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea)
Top speed: 36.63km/h
Another that is probably not all that surprising. Chelsea has previously witnessed Mykhailo Mudryk’s Super Saiyan Barnet meet his speed in action. The finished result will undoubtedly emerge over time, but for the time being, simply make an effort to keep up with the flying winger as he jets about down the flank.
2. Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest)
Top speed: 36.7km/h
Together with Taiwo Awoniyi, Nottingham Forest’s turbo-charged forward, who is ranked as the second-fastest player this season, was the driving force behind the team’s comeback and eventual relegation. Despite hiring a large number of new employees in the summer and in January, Steve Cooper’s top-flight talisman and game-changer ultimately turned out to be a player who was with him in the Championship. Brennan Johnson, who was the only player for Forest to feature in all 38 of their games, is a Tricky Tree through and through, having been born and raised in Nottingham.
1. Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Top speed: 37.31km/h
Did Vinicius Junior have any chance at all? Even though the Brazilian is one of the best players in the game right now, Kyle Walker stopped him from attacking when Man City played Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinal. The 33-year-old England international attributes his thriving pace to “genetics” and his dedication off the pitch.
Earlier this month before his 33rd birthday, Walker said: “My groin injury before the World Cup notwithstanding, I still feel terrific and fit at 32, so I’m not old. I take care of myself off the pitch and have maintained myself in good form. I’m employed by a gym. I must give credit to my parents’ genes since some athletes start to be sluggish down. I reached 37.5 km/h, according to one of the sports science men, and I’m not slowing down.”
A combined XI of 2022/23’s fastest players
The players on the aforementioned list are unquestionably the quickest in the 2022–2023 Premier League season, but how would an all-star lineup look if each position were taken into account? Gavin Bazunu would be our No. 1 in a typical 4-4-2, since his reported ‘peak speed’ of 32.62 km/h makes him the fastest custodian, ahead of David Raya (31.14) and Jordan Pickford (31.03). Walker, of course, occupies the right-back position, with Kieran Tierney, the second-fastest defender (35.99 km/h), on the opposite flank. Our center-backs are Kristoffer Ajer (35.53) and Lloyd Kelly (35.42), however, Kalidou Koulibaly wasn’t far behind them (35.23) in terms of speed.
Anthony Gordon (36.34 km/h) and Walker are paired in the right midfield position, with Mykhailo Mudryk (36.63 km/h) providing speed in front of Tierney. Our middle midfield pairing of Matheus Nunes (36.32) and Denis Zakaria (36.09) seeks to balance this quick mixture. For any opposing defence, the combination of Brennan Johnson (36.70 km/h) and Darwin Nunez (36.53 km/h) up front is extremely terrifying.
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