Fastest Premier League players right now | 2023/24
Pace often makes the difference in a football match.
While some players have mastered manipulating space or reading the game (e.g. Luka Modric or Sergio Busquets), they can always come unstuck against a road runner. The Premier League is no different.
For every Thiago Silva, still proving to be a quality defender despite being just over a year away from 40, there’s a Mykhailo Mudryk, a player whose pace is their main attribute and their best way to beat an opponent.
We may not have seen the best of Mudryk at Chelsea yet but he has had opportunities to put on the burners, and he’s not alone in the Premier League. Last season, Kyle Walker was the fastest man in England’s top flight, reaching a top seed of 37.31km/h.
But remarkably, neither he nor Mudryk have made the top 10 for fastest players so far this season. So who has? We requested data from Opta to find out.
5. Alejandro Garnacho
- Club: Manchester United
- Appearances: 3
- Top speed: 35.01km/h
Alejandro Garnacho looks to be the future for Man United and when he gets up and running it can be tough to stop the Argentine. Garnacho produced the fifth-fastest sprint speed recorded this season when Man United lost 2-0 to Tottenham at the end of August.
4. Rasmus Hojlund
- Club: Manchester United
- Appearances: 1
- Top speed: 35.45km/h
Rasmus Hojlund has played 23 minutes of Premier League football this season but already there are only three players to record a faster sprint speed. Man United’s summer signing came off the bench in their defeat to Arsenal and even in his limited time on the pitch made an impression. The striker Man United have no doubt been missing, Hojlund has pace to go with his goalscoring, hitting a top speed of 35.45km/h.
3. Adama Traore
- Club: Fulham
- Appearances: 3
- Top speed: 35.55km/h
New club, same Adama Traore. He didn’t break the top 10 fastest Premier League players last season, but Traore is in the top three for now with a top speed of 35.55km/h recorded in Fulham’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal. The Spaniard was on the pitch at the Emirates for just 19 minutes, but that was more than enough time for him to stretch his legs (his other two Premier League appearances have combined for just 13 minutes). With a truckload of baby oil, Traore will be hoping to improve on his top speed during the campaign.
2. Anthony Gordon
- Club: Newcastle
- Appearances: 4
- Top speed: 35.67km/h
Last season, Anthony Gordon was the fourth-fastest player in the Premier League with a top speed of 36.61km/h. For now he’s even higher in the list, albeit with a lower speed. Newcastle have struggled in the early stages of the 2023/24 Premier League season, but Gordon himself has been doing alright. Starting all four of Newcastle’s games, the former Everton forward has a goal and an assist, as well as a top speed of 35.67km/h, recorded in the 1-0 defeat to Man City.
Honourable mentions
Burnley centre-back Ameen Al-Dakhil (34.97km/h), Nottingham Forest forward Anthony Elanga (34.88km/h) and Wolves’ Pedro Neto (34.84km/h) were all in touching distance of the 35km/h mark.
Walker and Mudryk didn’t make the top five for top speeds this season, but they did break into the top 20. Walker was 12th with 34.56km/h reached in Man City’s opener against Burnley, while Mudryk (13th) hit 34.64km/h in Chelsea’s defeat to Nottingham Forest.
1. Dominic Solanke
- Club: Bournemouth
- Appearances: 4
- Top speed: 36.1km/h
The fastest man in the Premier League so far this season? Dominic Solanke may not necessarily be a name you expected to read but for now he’s top (which isn’t to say Solanke is slow, but rather there are other players more known for their pace). Solanke is the only player to hit 36km/h in the Premier League so far and has also scored two of Bournemouth’s four goals this season. Can he be toppled?
