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England's top footballing division, the Premier League, is home to the fast and the furious. The game is at its most dynamic in this league, barely giving players a chance to catch their breath. The league is rigged against the unhurried, while those with breakneck pace have a natural edge.
Today, we will take a look at five footballers in the Premier League who have left opponents in the dust with their pace. Here are the five quickest players in the English top flight in the 2022-23 season:
Stats via: Opta
#5 Denis Zakaria — Chelsea
Chelsea signed Juventus defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria on loan in September 2022. The Swiss midfielder has rarely featured for the Blues thus far in the league due to injuries, making only four appearances. Even in that brief window, he has showcased his pace, clocking a top speed of 36.09 km/h and becoming the quickest midfielder in the Premier League.
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Zakaria made his league debut on December 27, in a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth. He started the next three matches in the league, but could not keep his new team from dropping points in them (one draw, two defeats). Zakaria missed the last two matches in the English top flight with a hamstring problem.
Zakaria has so far played a through ball, delivered three accurate long balls, made 18 recoveries, and won nine duels for the Pensioners in the league.
#4 Erling Haaland — Manchester City
The most in-form striker in the world at the moment, Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland, is deceptively quick. Standing tall at 6 ft 4 inches, the Norwegian ace has clocked a top speed of 36.22 km/h in the Premier League this season.
Joining the defending champions from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, Haaland has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in England. Haaland has so far participated in 19 league games, scoring a staggering 25 goals and claiming three assists.
He has already scored four Premier League hat-tricks, becoming the quickest ever to bag as many (19 games). Needless to say, he is currently the league’s leading scorer and is well on course to break Mohamed Salah’s record (32 goals) for most goals scored in a 38-game campaign.
#3 Darwin Nunez — Liverpool
Liverpool splurged an initial £64.2 million to sign Darwin Nunez from Benfica in the summer. The striker, however, has a number of add-ons in his contract that could take that fee to £85 million, making him the club’s most expensive signing.
The Uruguayan may not have been as clinical as Liverpool fans would have liked, but he has certainly helped in making the attack more mobile. Clocking a top speed of 36.53 km/h in the Premier League this season, Nunez has announced himself as the quickest South American star in England’s premier footballing division.
Nunez has participated in 14 league games so far, scoring five goals and providing two assists. The striker has missed a whopping 15 big chances and hit the woodwork five times.
Cody Gakpo’s signing and Harvey Elliott’s excellent run of form have hurt Nunez’s chances of being an automatic pick for Jurgen Klopp. It will be interesting to see if he can bounce back to reclaim his place in the starting XI.
#2 Anthony Gordon — Everton
Everton, one of the most respected teams in the Premier League, has not had a smooth ride this season. Chelsea legend-turned-coach Frank Lampard has been dismissed as manager after the Merseysiders languished to 19th place in the Premier League standings.
Amid the doom and gloom, Anthony Gordon has often provided fans with flashes of positivity, courtesy of his breakneck pace. The 21-year-old Evertonian left-winger has clocked a top speed of 36.61 km/h in the Premier League this season, emerging as the quickest Englishman in the division.
Gordon has featured regularly for Everton this season. In 16 league matches, he has scored thrice but is yet to register his first assist. Gordon has also whipped in 25 crosses, created a big chance, attempted 34 tackles, and blocked seven shots in the English top flight this season.
#1 Mykhailo Mudryk — Chelsea
Premier League giants Chelsea signed Mykhailo Mudryk from Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth a staggering £88.5 million in January. The 22-year-old winger, who was heavily linked with Arsenal, made his debut in the goalless draw with Liverpool on January 21, dazzling fans with his pace and footwork.
The left-winger clocked a top speed of 36.63 km/h in that match, emerging as the quickest player in the division this season.
Mudryk, whose Chelsea contract does not run out until June 2031, has shown promising signs this season. In the Ukrainian Premier Liga, Mudryk featured in 12 matches in the first half of the 2022-23 season, scoring seven times and providing six assists.
His impressive form continued in the UEFA Champions League group stage. He scored thrice and claimed two assists in six Group F matches as Shakhtar finished third in the standings.
