The Opta study raises questions about Bernardo Silva’s future at Manchester City. While he remains a talented player, his declining speed could be a concern for Guardiola. The club may consider selling him in the summer to recoup some of their investment.
A study conducted by the statistics center Opta has revealed that a Manchester City player under Pep Guardiola has the lowest top speed among all outfield players in the Premier League this season.
The player in question is Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva, 30, who recorded a maximum speed of just 18.2 miles per hour, placing him below players like Tomas Soucek of West Ham (18.8), Casemiro of Manchester United (18.8), and Mikel Merino of Arsenal (18.5).
Beyond the statistic, the alarming data for Pep Guardiola is that it shows a physical decline of a player who, due to his talent, has been a difference-maker for Manchester City but has not been as decisive this season as in previous campaigns.
With a contract until mid-next year and a market value of 45 million euros, the talented Portuguese attacking midfielder could be playing the last games of his extensive cycle as a Citizen, as he arrived at the club in July 2017. Selling him in the next transfer market would be for Manchester City one of the last great opportunities to obtain a good sum of money for him, because letting more time pass would allow interested parties to speculate with the time of completion of that link, which will hardly be renewed.
Fastest player in the Premier League
The Opta study revealed that the player with the highest speed record was Micky van de Ven, of Tottenham, who recorded a maximum speed in a race of 23 miles per hour.
Darwin Núñez among the players who spend more time running at speed
The Uruguayan of Liverpool Darwin Núñez spends an average of 1.07 percent of his time on the field running at speed and is only surpassed in that record by Anthony Elanga (1.17) of Nottingham Forest and Anthony Gordon (1.10) of Newcastle.
Opta defines that fast race (sprint) as one greater than 25 kilometers per hour. In that sense, the one who has completed a greater number of sprints so far this season is Antonee Robinson, of Fulham, with 702.
Cunha, the Brazilian walker
In opposition to the previous players, Matheus Cunha was revealed as the one who has run the least so far this season in the Premier League. The player from Wolverhampton and the Brazilian National Team has spent 77.6 percent of his time on the field walking.
