Premier League's Surprise Speedster: The Fastest Player Revealed

In the world of English football, there is no shortage of lightning-fast players, but one standout star reigns supreme above all others.

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 seasonMicky van de Ven – 37.12 km/hAnthony Elanga – 35.90 km/hErling Haaland – 35.74 km/hTimo Werner – 35.69 km/hGabriel Martinelli – 35.57 km/hAlejandro Garnacho – 35.48 km/hCameron Archer – 35.47 km/hPedro Neto – 35.40 km/hYankuba Minteh – 35.38 km/hMarcus 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 2020/21Micky van de Ven – 37.38 km/hKyle Walker – 37.31 km/hChiedozie Ogbene – 36.93 km/hAnthony Elanga -36.91 km/hPedro Neto – 36.86 km/hJakub Moder – 36.84 km/hDominik Szoboszlai – 36.76 km/hDara O’Shea – 36.73 km/hAntonio Rudiger – 36.72 km/hBrennan 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.