Few things excite football fans more than a lightning-fast winger haring down the flank and giving their opposing full-back a torrid time.
And Chelsea's new signing Mykhailo Mudryk did just that on debut at Liverpool last weekend.
The 22-year-old arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk took just 11 minutes of his first Premier League appearance to become the competition's fastest player this season.
However, in the three-and-a-half seasons since such data began to be recorded, Mudryk is not the absolute fastest.
That honour goes to a defender, whose lung-bursting run to stop a Brighton & Hove Albion breakaway in December 2021 clocked a speed of 36.72km/h.
Take a bow, Antonio Rudiger.
Former Chelsea star Rudiger is the only defender to make the top 10 list of fastest players.
Top 10 PL sprint kings
| Player | Club | Match | Km/h |
| Antonio Rudiger | CHE | v BHA (12/12/21) | 36.72 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | ARS | v WAT (26/07/20) | 36.66 |
| Mohamed Salah | LIV | v SOU (27/11/21) | 36.64 |
| Adama Traore | WOL | v MCI (11/12/21) | 36.64 |
| Mykhailo Mudryk | CHE | v LIV (21/01/23) | 36.63 |
| Anthony Gordon | EVE | v FUL (29/10/22) | 36.61 |
| Shane Long | SOU | v NEW (8/12/19) | 36.53 |
| Darwin Nunez | LIV | v FUL (6/08/22) | 36.53 |
| Adama Traore | WOL | v CHE (26/07/20) | 36.47 |
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | ARS | v BUR (17/08/19) | 36.43 |
With six of the division's quickest men still playing, and the likes of Darwin Nunez and Erling Haaland impressing in their maiden Premier League campaigns, the race is on to be the new No 1 sprint king.
Top five fastest players 2022/23
The new @ChelseaFC signing has the quickest recorded speed this season 🏃♂️ pic.twitter.com/VDCJ4SI9lD
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 24, 2023
