Kyle Walker’s speed is one of his biggest attributes, but his Premier League speed stats this season make for very surprising reading.
The Manchester City defender’s speed was placed under the microscope following his side’s 3-2 win over Fulham in City’s most recent outing.
Walker went head-to-head with the electric Adama Traore and was so close to overtaking the winger when chasing a long ball.
Although reported data says his recorded speed was less than that of the Fulham man’s 33.8km/h, Walker still hit an impressive 31.4km/h.
It also falls short of his top speed this term of 33.6km/h in City’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle last month, but even this is way off the league’s highest.
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Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven was last season’s fastest Premier League player with a record-breaking 37.38km/h and sits top for the current campaign so far.
He hit an incredible 37.1km/h in Spurs’ 3-0 win at Manchester United that included a dazzling run before assisting Brennan Johnson’s opening goal.
Comparatively, Walker’s speed against Newcastle doesn’t even reach the top ten bracket of fastest players this season.
The 34-year-old actually sits 80th overall, with his teammate Erling Haaland taking the no.1 spot for City with 35.7km/h.
Walker’s quickest sprint is a far cry from the 37.31km/h he set during the 2022/23 season, which was the Premier League’s highest.
His fellow England right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has also been a faster player so far this campaign having hit 34.7km/h for Liverpool.
Age may understandably be a key factor in the decline of Walker’s speed compared to his efforts two seasons ago.
However, he has still made seven appearances in all competitions for City so far this season, with Pep Guardiola still reliant on his quality.
Walker still has seven months left to finish as the fastest Premier League player for 2024/25 but Van de Ven’s top speed will take some beating.
The Dutchman sits 0.5km/h ahead of Wolves winger Carlos Forbs and also has the fourth quickest speed with 35.8km/h.
His Spurs teammate, Timo Werner, is also one of the fastest Premier League players with the 35.7km/h he recorded against Newcastle.
The full top ten according to statistics provided by Opta has been listed below and shows just how quickly top flight players can run.
The top ten fastest Premier League players so far this season in km/h
- Micky van de Ven – 37.1 – Manchester United 0-3 TOTTENHAM
- Carlos Forbs – 36.6 – Brentford 5-3 WOLVES
- Anthony Elanga – 35.9 – Liverpool 0-1 NOTTINGHAM FOREST
- Erling Haaland – 35.7 – MANCHESTER CITY 4-1 Ipswich Town
- Timo Werner – 35.7 – Newcastle 2-1 TOTTENHAM
- Gabriel Martinelli – 35.6 – Tottenham 0-1 ARSENAL
- Alejandro Garnacho – 35.5 – MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 Fulham
- Cameron Archer – 35.5 – SOUTHAMPTON 0-1 Nottingham Forest
- Pedro Neto – 35.4 – CHELSEA 4-2 Brighton
- Yankuba Minteh – 35.4 – BRIGHTON 2-2 Nottingham Forest