Fastest player in the Premier League revealed and it's not who you might think
Today at 07:47 AM
The fastest player in the Premier League has been revealed – and it’s not who you might think it is.
There are a number of incredibly quick players in the top-flight of English football but there is one particular star who stands above the rest.
We tend to think of wingers, full-backs and attackers when it comes to pace but the top speedster in the 2024-25 Premier League is actually a centre-back.
That’s according to the official Premier League website, who have crowned Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven as the fastest player in England.
That comes after Van de Ven set the fastest speed of any Premier League player so far this season in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
It was in first-half stoppage time when the 23-year-old Netherlands international ran at lighting pace – 37.12 km/h – to track back and tackle Alejandro Garnacho.
That puts him well above the second-fastest player, Nottingham Forest star Anthony Elanga (35.90 km/h), and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (35.74 km/h).
Fastest Premier League players this season
- Micky van de Ven – 37.12 km/h
- Anthony Elanga – 35.90 km/h
- Erling Haaland – 35.74 km/h
- Timo Werner – 35.69 km/h
- Gabriel Martinelli – 35.57 km/h
- Alejandro Garnacho – 35.48 km/h
- Cameron Archer – 35.47 km/h
- Pedro Neto – 35.40 km/h
- Yankuba Minteh – 35.38 km/h
- Marcus Rashford – 35.35 km/h
While news of Van de Ven clocking up the fastest speed of the season may surprise some, given the position he plays, it will come as no shock to Spurs fans.
That’s because Van de Ven has been breaking speed records since he joined the club last year and continues to dominate the all-time rankings.
‘Van de Ven’s fastest sprint at Old Trafford was the fourth-fastest recorded in the Premier League since such data started to be collected in 2020/21,’ the Premier League said on their website.
Fastest Premier League players since 2020/21
- Micky van de Ven – 37.38 km/h
- Kyle Walker – 37.31 km/h
- Chiedozie Ogbene – 36.93 km/h
- Anthony Elanga -36.91 km/h
- Pedro Neto – 36.86 km/h
- Jakub Moder – 36.84 km/h
- Dominik Szoboszlai – 36.76 km/h
- Dara O’Shea – 36.73 km/h
- Antonio Rudiger – 36.72 km/h
- Brennan Johnson – 36.70 km/h
‘Remarkably, the 23-year-old is responsible for three of the four top speeds recorded by players in that time, including the fastest ever, which he set against Brentford in January 2024. Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker is the only player who can rival him.’
Tottenham fans have been loving news of their defender’s lighting pace against United at Old Trafford, with one supporter calling him ‘Micky Van de Verstappen’.
Other football fans have pointed out the huge difference between Van de Ven and the second-fastest star Elanga for this season – 1.22 km/h – compared to the gap between the Forest star and the 10th fastest player, which is just 0.55 km/h.
‘There’s more time difference between 1 and 2 than between 2 and 10!’ @AwayPhilosopher228 posted on Reddit.
