The Premier League is known for some of the best athletes in the world. Clubs everywhere seek out fast players to strengthen their teams on both attack and defense. Speed is key for taking advantage of counter attacks. For instance, players such as Pedro Neto and Anthony Gordon excel in this area.
On defense, it’s equally important to have fast players who can stop counter attacks. This is especially true for teams that play with a high defensive line, such as Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Kyle Walker, the 34-year-old England player, is still fast but does not rank in the top 10 this season, which is mostly led by attacking players.
Fastest players in the 2024–25 Premier League season
According to the Premier League’s official website, here are the 10 fastest players in the league.
- Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur) – 23 mph (37.12 km/h)
- Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest) – 22.23 mph (35.9 km/h)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – 22.2 mph (35.74 km/h)
- Timo Werner (Tottenham Hotspur) – 22.17 mph (35.69 km/h)
- Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) – 22.1 mph (35.57 km/h)
- Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United) – 22.04 mph (35.48 km/h)
- Cameron Archer (Southampton) – 22.04 mph (35.47 km/h)
- Pedro Neto (Chelsea) – 21.99 mph (35.4 km/h)
- Yankuba Minteh (Brighton & Hove Albion) – 21.98 mph (35.38 km/h)
- Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) – 21.96 mph (35.35 km/h)
Micky van de Ven is the fastest player in the Premier League!
pic.twitter.com/PUjtxXGjEQ
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 2, 2024
Micky van de Ven clocked the fastest speed in the Premier League this season during Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 victory over Manchester United on Sunday (Sept. 29th).
Van de Ven showcased his speed when he sprinted through the Manchester United midfield and defense to set up a brilliant assist for Brennan Johnson. However, that wasn’t his top speed of the match.
His fastest moment came while chasing back to tackle Alejandro Garnacho in first-half stoppage time, reaching a top speed of 37.12 km/h. You can watch the clip below.
Micky van de Ven’s sprint was not just the fastest of the match but the most rapid by any Premier League player this season. He recorded a speed of over 1 km/h faster than Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga, who sits in second place. Erling Haaland, the league’s top scorer this season, ranks third.
Most distance covered by a player this season
Southampton’s Flynn Downes is leading the Premier League in the distance covered category this season. The midfielder has logged an impressive 84.2 km over 630 minutes of play, which is roughly the distance from St. Mary’s Stadium to the outskirts of Greater London.
However, this data can be affected by the amount of time a player spends on the field. The more minutes played, the more chances a player has of increasing his total distance covered.
A more accurate way to measure this is by looking at the distance covered per 90 minutes. This provides a better sense of how much ground a player covers in an average match.
