An intriguing study has shed light on the Premier League's slowest and quickest players, with current champions Manchester City having two players in each category
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Bernardo Silva walks off the pitch against Brighton
Bernardo Silva has been revealed as the Premier League's slowest player
(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Manchester City star Bernado Silva has been identified as the Premier League's slowest player. The 30-year-old claimed the unwanted mantle after data from Opta clocked his top speed this season at 29.4 km/h (kilometres per hour) – the lowest in England's top division.
The findings came after Opta Analysts carried out a study on the movement of Premier League players throughout the current season. While Silva topped the chart for lagging behind, Wolves' 34-year-old centre-half Craig Dawson, who recorded a speed of 29.6 km/h, came just ahead in second.
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Arsenal's versatile midfielder Mikel Merino – who's been deployed up front of late – actually came third on the slowest list with speeds of just 29.8 km/h.
However, the report also shed light on the quickest players in the league. In what may surprise some fans, Tottenham Hotspur's Dutch defender Micky Van de Ven was revealed to be the league's most rapid player with a staggering top speed of 37.1 km/h.
While City do have the undesirable tag of having the leggiest player, they also have the league's second fastest in the shape of Silva's Portuguese team-mate Matheus Nunes, who recorded a pace of 36.7 km/h. Rounding off the podium of sprinters is Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo with a top speed of 36.6 km/h.
The study also revealed which player has covered the total amount of distance so far this season, with West Ham's Tomás Soucek coming on top with 140.8 km.
Newcastle star Bruno Guimarães comes in second with 139.9 km covered, while Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans is in third with 139.3 km.
Micky van de Ven of Tottenham Hotspur runs with the ball under pressure from Roman Dixon of Everton
Micky van de Ven has clocked the highest speed in the Premier League this season
Other highlights include Wolves star Matheus Cunha bagging the prize as the player who spends most time walking during matches at 77%. Nottingham Forest's Anthony Elanga was found to make the most sprints per match at 1.17% of the match, while Spurs' Dejan Kulusevski runs the most kilometres every 90 minutes with 12.3 km.
While Silva may have topped the list no player wishes to come top of, it's been another busy season for the diminutive midfielder. Silva has played in 40 games for City this season, scoring three goals and assisting four.
While it's his lowest attacking output in a City shirt since joining, he resents claims that Pep Guardiola's squad is having to contend with age as a factor in their struggles this season, with City’s last remaining hope of domestic silverware set to be the FA Cup.
Asked whether City’s squad was too old after the Citizens beat Bournemouth to progress to the semi-finals, Silva said: “Tell me, which player? Give me names.
Manchester City's Matheus Nunes was revealed to be the second fastest player in the Premier League
“That's people that don't understand the game. I'm 30-years-old, [Mateo] Kovacic is 30-years-old. You're not talking about guys that are 36. So we have six bad months or four bad months and out of nowhere we're old, we're not good enough. In the last eight seasons we've won six Premier Leagues and for four bad months we're old?
“I'm asking you. You asked me the question so I answered. That’s people that don't understand the game, never played the game and probably don't understand a thing about football. We're going to prove them wrong. We have time for that."
Silva joined City in May 2017 from Monaco for around £43.5million. During his time at the Etihad he has won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and the Champions League in 2023.
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