Leicester City’s Spanish midfielder Vicente Iborra isn’t exactly renowned for his pace, but even the 30-year-old himself would’ve been surprised at being named the sixth slowest player in the Premier League by Opta.
The Spaniard has only seen 15 minutes of Premier League action so far this season, with Claude Puel preferring the double pivot of Nampalys Mendy and Wilfred Ndidi to sit in front of the back four.
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Despite most fans expecting 34-year-old Wes Morgan to be Leicester City’s slowest player following some questionable performances from the centre back, Opta have calculated that Iborra is in fact slower than the Jamaican, registering a top speed of just 17.09 miles per hour, as reported by the Leicester Mercury.
That number makes Iborra the sixth slowest player in the league, though his sprint was faster than both those of Adam Lallana and Gary Cahill.
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A pinch of salt should be taken with Opta’s findings however, as 15 minutes is an incredibly small sample size for Iborra to reach his true top speed within, and in truth the Spaniard’s game relies very little on how quickly he can run.
It’s widely accepted that the fastest footballers can reach speeds of 21 miles per hour, so even if Iborra does see more game time, don’t expect him to be up there with the quickest in the Premier League.