The fastest Premier League player is not Kyle Walker or Erling Haaland. It’s not even a fullback or forward. The Premier League’s top speedster goes to Tottenham’s star center-back Micky van de Ven, or ‘Micky Van de Verstappen’ as Spurs fans call him.
The 23-year-old Dutchman set the record straight during last weekend’s 3-nil drubbing of Manchester United. During the game’s first-half stoppage time, the defender turned into a lightning bolt to spring back and rob the ball from Alejandro Garnacho.
Van de Ven clocked in at 23.06 mph before making the tackle. That is .24mph faster than the league’s second-fastest run this season from Anthony Elga. Haaland ranks third at 22.20 mph; finally, a record the Norwegian can’t touch.
Fastest Premier League players this season
| Player | Speed (mph) |
|---|---|
| Micky van de Ven | 23.07 |
| Anthony Elanga | 22.31 |
| Erling Haaland | 22.21 |
| Timo Werner | 22.18 |
| Gabriel Martinelli | 22.10 |
| Alejandro Garnacho | 22.05 |
| Cameron Archer | 22.04 |
| Pedro Neto | 22.00 |
| Yankuba Minteh | 21.98 |
| Marcus Rashford | 21.97 |
So, who is the fastest Premier League player of all time?
Not surprisingly, Van de Ven is also the fastest-ever Premier League player ever in the data-driven era. The Premier League started culling and publishing such stats during the 2020/21 season.
Last winter, Van de Ven pulled out the F1 and “Verstappened” at 23.23 mph to save a goal against Brentford.
Van de Ven is a rare sprinter among center-backs, who typically have more robust builds to win aerial duels with forwards. In other words, the 6’4 Dutchman fits perfectly into Ange Postecoglou’s high-tempo, attack-focused football.
Man. Is. Lightning.
Fastest Premier League players of all-time
| Player | Speed (mph) |
|---|---|
| Micky van de Ven | 23.23 |
| Kyle Walker | 23.18 |
| Chiedozie Ogbene | 22.95 |
| Anthony Elanga | 22.93 |
| Pedro Neto | 22.90 |
| Jakub Moder | 22.89 |
| Dominik Szoboszlai | 22.84 |
| Dara O’Shea | 22.82 |
| Antonio Rudiger | 22.82 |
| Brennan Johnson | 22.80 |
