Southampton forwards Adam Armstrong and Nathan Tella have been clocked amongst the fastest players to play in the Premier League this season.
Via the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror, Armstrong has actually been recorded as the fastest player so far at 22.15mph, whilst Tella sits in fourth place at a speed of 21.75mph.
The pace that the Saints duo possess is key to their style and will have a significant benefit as they play in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team.
Speed in closing down opponents is crucial for the way that Hasenhuttl gets his players to press opposition teams and can then be used to great effect in creating scoring chances.
Southampton speed demons will play a huge part for the team this season
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Nathan Tella has played just 10 minutes of Saints’ opening two league fixtures having come on as a substitute against Everton, but this campaign will still surely be a big one for his development.
He broke into the first-team fully in 2020/21 and will now be looking to make the next steps in his very promising career.
Saints fans have seen more of Adam Armstrong so far in this season. He played the full 90 in both opening games and impressed with his busy style upfront alongside Che Adams.
His Premier League-topping pace actually played a part in his first top-flight goal. He and Adams shut down Everton centre-back Michael Keane on the opening weekend and Armstrong’s pace saw him streak away from other opposition players to place a perfect shot past Jordan Pickford.
Unfortunately his first Saints strike came in a 3-1 loss, but his pace was also on show against Manchester United last Sunday.
A number of times he caught United players in possession by pressing them with speed and he sprinted away from defenders late on to give himself a chance of winning the game for Saints when put through on goal by strike partner Adams again. However, his finish was not what he would have desired and was struck right at a central David De Gea.
Both Tella and Armstrong will be big contributors to Saints in the next few years and their documented speed is just one of their traits that makes them a big part of plans.