LUTON may be sitting in the relegation zone, but they’re top when it comes to the Premier League speed charts.
In fact, there are two players from the Hatters who feature in the division’s fastest XI so far this season.
Chiedozie Ogbene, 26, leads the line for the football speedsters so far this season after recording a speed of 36.93km/h in data compiled by Squawka.
He is ahead of Wolves winger Pedro Neto, who clocked in a running speed of 36.86km/h.
Newcastle star Anthony Gordon then completes the front three at 36.68km/h, but is beaten by two players on the overall list.
While many speedsters are typically found on the wing, Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai operates in central midfield.
And with the ever-evolving physical needs of football, the Hungarian slots into central midfield with his speed of 36.76km/h, which also ranks him third overall.
He is joined in the middle of the park by Everton’s Amadou Onana (36.65km/h) and Luton’s second representative Tahith Chong (36.67km/h).
This evolution has also impacted the roles of defenders as well thanks to the increasing demand to play high defensive line.
Therefore it should come as no surprise that a defender features in the top ten.
Burnley’s Dara O’Shea kicks off the rapid defence of this team with a top speed of 36.73km/h, which ranks him fourth overall.
Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven slots into central defence alongside the Irishman with a speed of 35.52km/h.
The pair are flanked by Kyle Walker at right back and Ben Chilwell at left back.
Manchester City and England speedster Walker comes in last of the back four with a still impressive 35.32km/h.
However, this is a far cry from the 37.31km/h he set last season, which would clock him in at number one this season.
Injured Blues star Chilwell set a pace of 35.5km/h.
The starting XI is completed by Robert Sanchez in goal at an impressive 35.11km/h.
His second closest competitor is Jose Sa at 29.33km/h.
Dominic Solanke (36.1km/h), Bryan Mbeumo (35.94km/h) and Sander Berge (35.9km/h) are all unfortunate to miss out on the XI but feature in the top 10. – The Sun