REVEALED: The Premier League's Fastest Player - And It'll Surprise You!
By Harry DeCosemo, Sports Reporter
April 09, 2019
There are plenty of candidates for the title of the fastest footballer in the Premier League, but the man who holds it officially may be a surprise to you. Many would think it may be Leroy Sane of Manchester City, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold or perhaps Son Heung-Min at Tottenham, but only one of those features in the top six of the records. The winner is probably someone who won’t get much recognition; Manchester United defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who has spent the season on loan at Fulham.
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The Dutchman has a bright future in the game and is highly thought of at Old Trafford. But after a decent first season as a Premier League player in another temporary spell at Crystal Palace last year, things haven’t really gone to plan for him this season.
Despite being one of an influx of signings at the start of the season, Fosu-Mensah hasn’t been able to stop Fulham being relegated back to the Championship in humiliating style.
His own performances have not been particularly bad, and he will be able to take away the fact that he has been clocked as the fastest runner in the league. The 20-year-old sprinted a top speed of 21.95mph earlier on this campaign, putting him score the likes of Wolves’ Ruben Vinagre, by 0.8mph, and City star Sane, who clocked 21.86mph.
Making up the rest of the top six are Newcastle defender DeAndre Yedlin, Felipe Anderson of West Ham and Liverpool striker Divock Origi. That means there is no place for some of the biggest stars in the league including Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Raheem Sterling.
Arsenal defender Héctor Bellerin was believed to be able to run 30 metres quicker than the fastest man ever, world record holder and Olympic Champion Usain Bolt. But the Spaniard is currently recovering from a serious knee injury, and hasn’t featured much at all throughout the season.
But not all is lost for Sane, who recorded the fastest ever speed in the Premier League last season. He beat the 22.0213mph set by Jamie Vardy, with Opta beginning to measure these statistics all the way back in 2013/14. Vardy’s absence from the list may also surprise some, but with his age and the fact he is reaching the end of his career, a loss of pace is understandable.
