Pace is one thing many of the Premier League‘s greatest ever attackers have in common.
Picture a curly-haired, hairy-chested Ryan Giggs marauding down the wing at Old Trafford in the 1990s, or a teenaged Michael Owen blitzing in behind at Anfield that same decade.
Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo were two of the quickest, and best, of the Noughties while the 2010s played host to the likes of Kyle Walker and Gareth Bale.
Former Real Madrid team-mates Ronaldo and Bale were, in fact, so fast that former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers once claimed they could run in the Olympics. OK, maybe Rodgers went a step too far, but you get the jist.
So, as we head towards 2026, who are the current Premier League speedsters who could give Olympic sprinters a run for their money?
Erling Haaland and Adama Traore spring to mind, and so too does Spurs centre-half Micky Van de Ven after his burst through Copenhagen’s defence in the Champions League last month.
There’s no place for Erling Haaland on our list of the Premier League’s quickest players
Wolves’ Jackson Tchatchoua is the fastest player in the league with a top speed of 23.2mph
Yet none of the above top or even warrant a top-five spot in a new list of the league’s quickest players shared with Daily Mail Sport this week.
No, that title goes to Wolves full-back Jackson Tchatchoua.
Signed in the summer from Hellas Verona after being named Serie A’s fastest player last season with a top speed of 22.4mph, the 24-year-old has incredibly eclipsed that number since arriving in the Black Country.
He’s been clocked at 23.2mph, according to Opta. For reference, the fastest ever speed recorded by a human was when Usain Bolt reached 27.8mph during a 100m race at the 2009 World Championships.
The Belgian clocked in some 0.6mph faster that his closest competitor, Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie (22.6mph), while new Manchester United recruit Bryan Mbeumo (22.58mph) has to settle for bronze.
Occupying the fourth and fifth spots are Chelsea’s Pedro Neto (22.57mph) and Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon (22.53mph), with the rest of the top 10 consisting of Daniel James (22.45mph), Yankuba Minteh (22.44mph), Anthony Elanga (22.36mph), Nico O’Reilly (22.36mph), Kevin (22.34mph) and William Osula (22.34mph).
Remarkably, there’s no place for Haaland or Van de Ven despite both being named as two of the league’s quickest in years gone-by.
But how about the league’s slowest? A title no one wants to scoop.
Destiny Udogie and Bryan Mbeumo occupy the second and third spots in Opta’s list
The rarely seen Harvey Elliott meanwhile makes our list of the league’s slowest players
If we were to include shot-stoppers then Nottingham Forest’s John Victor would be the unlucky man named the top flight’s very own tortoise. However I’m not sure that’s fair. After all, who cares about a goalkeeper’s pace?
In terms of outfield players, Brighton’s Joe Knight’s top speed of 12.47mph is the slowest recorded by any Premier League player so far this season, though that’s a little misleading. The 20-year-old has played just a solitary minute of league football for the Seagulls, so likely didn’t break into a sprint.
In fact, none of the four slowest have played more than two minutes all season. Nehemiah Oriola (12.69mph) has played just one minute for Brighton, Odsonne Edouard (13.71mph) just a couple for Crystal Palace and Everton’s Harrison Armstrong (14.78mph) was also brought on in the dying embers for his solitary appearance.
It’s with Diego Coppola in fifth where we begin to understand who exactly is the league’s slowest player. The Italian has reached a top speed of just 14.99mph in the 107 minutes he’s featured under Fabian Hurzeler this term.
He beats Sunderland’s Dan Neil (15.18mph), Crystal Palace’s Borna Sosa (15.4mph) and, to compound his Villa Park misery, Harvey Elliott. The now rarely seen Englishman has clocked in with a top speed of 15.5mph during his four appearances in claret and blue.
Meanwhile occupying the ninth and tenth spots on our slowest players list are Mateo Kovacic (15.6mph) and Mike Tresor (15.7mph).
