One Manchester City player is still going strong despite turning 33 this week.
Although Pep Guardiola’s team is renowned for their deft passing plays and technical brilliance, one of their underappreciated strengths is raw speed.
Erling Haaland can race onto through balls in attack for City, while Nathan Ake can keep up with the quickest of attackers. City has quick players all across the pitch.
Kyle Walker, however, is faster than every City player and every other star in the Premier League combined.
Since he joined City in 2017, the England international has undoubtedly become the best right-back in the world thanks to Guardiola, who has helped him develop both technically and tactically.
Walker’s most distinguishing quality during that time has been his speed, which has allowed City to play a high defensive line with the assurance that he can cover substantial amounts of open territory.
Walker, who turned 33 on Sunday, had some people worried that he would start to slow down this season, but that has not been the case.
In 2022–2023, Walker had the fastest in-game peak speed of any Premier League player, according to Opta.
Brennan Johnson of Nottingham Forest, who is 11 years Walker’s junior, was the next fastest with a time of 36.70km/h. The City star recorded a speed of 37.31km/h.
The top three finishers were Darwin Nunez of Liverpool (36.53 km/h), Mykhailo Mudryk of Chelsea (36.63 km/h), and Anthony Gordon of Newcastle (36.61 km/h).
City supporters might be surprised that Haaland isn’t on that list, but Walker has always been certain that he is faster than the young striker.
Erling has demonstrated his quickness in some of his goals. Other strikers don’t make those chances, occasionally he does it only with strength or speed but I’d still have to back myself!” Walker previously stated on the website of City.
Walker responded, “I still feel terrific and have kept fit, bar the injury when I ruptured my groyne before the World Cup.
“I take care of myself on and off the pitch, and to handle the load, I work out in the gym.
“I have to thank my parents as well — genetics — some players slow down, but I recently hit 37.5kmph — I don’t seem to be getting slower, and long may that continue.”