Chris Smalling can say what he wants but the stats don’t lie.
The Manchester United centre-back has been insistent that he’s the quickest player at Old Trafford but over the four Premier League games this season, it’s a different defender who has clocked the highest speed.
Luke Shaw has recorded a top speed of 34.13km/h in one of his 186 sprints thus far this season, beating out the likes of Memphis Depay’s 33.78km/h, Wayne Rooney’s 33.54km/h and the measly 33.1km/h set by Chris Smalling.
Shaw has been one of Louis van Gaal’s brightest sparks this season after being criticised in the last campaign for an alleged lack of fitness.
The 20-year-old left back looks a different animal this year though and is forming a solid partnership with Depay on the left flank at Old Trafford.
Speed data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the Official Player Rating Index of the Barclays Premier League.
