5 fastest centre-backs in the Premier League right now
The Premier League is known for its high-octane footballing action. It's a fast paced brand of football where teams attack relentlessly. There is hardly any time wasted just passing the ball around trying to catch breath.
The Premier League features some of the most athletic defenders in the world
As a natural cause of this high-tempo, end-to-end action, the Premier League requires their defenders to be much more than giants with immense physical strength. They need to be extremely athletic and also be able to keep up with the speedy attackers who trawl the attacking realms in the English top-flight.
It's not easy when players like Mohamed Salah, Marcus Rashford or Adam Traore are running at you. The ability to wrestle a player off the ball is obviously welcome but it needs to be complemented with the ability to keep up with attackers and make recoveries.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the fastest centre-backs in the Premier League right now.
#5 Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea)
Antonio Rudiger had become a peripheral figure at Chelsea during Frank Lampard's stint as manager of the Blues. The German international was widely linked with an exit during the 2021 January transfer window. However, he has since revived his Chelsea career under Thomas Tuchel.
Rudiger played a key role in Chelsea's UEFA Champions League triumph last season. Tuchel took over in January 2021 and immediately transformed Chelsea into one of the most solid defensive units in Europe. Rudiger is usually deployed as a left-sided centre-back in Chelsea's three-man defence.
In addition to having great aerial ability and tackling skills, Rudiger is also a very pacy defender. He is usually partnered with Thiago Silva, who has his limitations when it comes to pace as he is on the wrong side of 35.
But Rudiger helps snuff out the dangers of that nature by stirring his stumps and not letting attackers breach the Blues' backline easily.
Antonio Rudiger not happy with the pace given to him on @EASPORTSFIFA ratings!!! https://t.co/PrCh4OmNmW
#4 Ben Godfrey (Everton)
Everton centre-back Ben Godfrey is not the archetypal centre-back. He is 1.83 metres tall and is not stocky. But he uses his physical attributes to his advantage. The 23-year-old is a pacy centre-back who can go on to become one of the best in the league.
Pace has become an important part of Godfrey's game. Not only is he good at keeping up with the fastest of Premier League attackers but he is also excellent at carrying the ball out from the back.
His pace makes Godfrey a potent weapon when the Toffees are trying to break on the counter. Thanks to how fast he is, Godfrey can often carry the ball across long distances. This allows his attackers to get into dangerous positions instead of focusing on bringing the ball up the pitch.
Pace:
It should be well known how fast Ben Godfrey is by now.
His pace is a huge part of his game and it allows Godfrey too play out from the back and carry the ball far up the pitch to allow Everton to beat a press and create chances in the final third.
Here’s a direct example: https://t.co/bCWfvGKvep