Just how quick are the fastest players in the Premier League?
Rapid.
Three of the top six highest speeds ever recorded have all been registered so far in the 2017-18 season.
Via stats released by the Premier League, Leroy Sane has clocked the fastest speed recorded by a PL player since the metric was first recorded in 2013-14.
Manchester City’s German winger reached a top speed of 35.48km/hr (22mph) this season, while Patrick Van Aanholt and Moussa Sissoko have also reached speeds this season which have seen them place in the top six since records began.
Below is a look at the top speeds for the season so far and the top speeds reached in the Premier League since 2013-14 campaign.
With Man City having both Sane and Kyle Walker in the top five this season, you can see the importance Pep Guardiola puts on speed despite all of the talk about City’s free-flowing possession. Crystal Palace also have two speedsters in the top 10 this season with both Wilfried Zaha and Patrick van Aanholt in the top six.
As for total sprints, Dele Alli leads the way (2,163 in 2017-18) with Christian Eriksen also in the top 10 and representatives from eight other clubs making up the top 10. Dele also has the record for the most sprints during a single season (2,621) which was recorded last season.
These stats are intriguing and for some reason I expected to see Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane way up the list in terms of the being the quickest, but they didn’t even make the top 10.
| 2017/18 | Since 2013/14 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Speed (km/hr) | Player | Speed (km/hr) |
| Leroy Sane | 35.48 | Leroy Sane | 35.48 |
| Patrick van Aanholt | 35.42 | Jamie Vardy | 35.44 |
| Moussa Sissoko | 35.33 | Kyle Walker | 35.42 |
| Antonio Rudiger | 35.19 | Patrick van Aanholt | 35.42 |
| Kyle Walker | 35.16 | Anthony Martial | 35.40 |
| Wilfried Zaha | 35.14 | Moussa Sissoko | 35.33 |
| Oliver Burke | 35.13 | Shane Long | 35.31 |
| Kiko Femenia | 35.12 | Carl Jenkinson | 35.31 |
| Laurent Koscielny | 35.11 | Modou Barrow | 35.28 |
| Jamie Vardy | 35.09 | Hugo Rodallega | 35.27 |