Mbeumo: Where United star ranks among the league’s speed kings | OneFootball

Manchester United’s 2025/26 season turned out to be a tale of two halves. The Red Devils struggled to get results in the first half of the campaign, despite investing over £200 million in new signings over the summer.

When things failed to improve and a top-four finish appeared uncertain, the Premier League giants opted to part ways with former head coach Ruben Amorim in January. By then, United had managed eight wins and five defeats in 20 appearances in the league, and had also bowed out of the EFL Cup.

After interim manager Darren Fletcher oversaw a 2-2 draw against Burnley, INEOS appointed Michael Carrick as caretaker manager until the end of the season. Tasked with seeing out the season and securing a top-four finish, the English manager inspired a run of 12 wins and just two defeats in 17 games in charge.

United abandoned Amorim’s 3-4-3 system and embraced Carrick’s 4-2-3-1 formation, giving fans the exciting, attacking football they have been craving. The Englishman secured a third-place finish in the league and earned qualification for next season’s Champions League, and has since been handed the full-time job.

The Premier League recently published statistics which outline the impact of new signing Bryan Mbeumo on the Red Devils’ season.

United’s fastest player

United signed Mbeumo from Brentford in a bid to add more fizz to their faltering attack, which had managed just 44 goals in 38 games in the 2024/25 season. While fellow arrivals Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko took time to settle at Old Trafford, the Cameroonian hit the ground running, with his speed adding another dimension to the Red Devils’ attack.

The 26 year old gave fans a sample of his blistering pace against Fulham in August, in his second game. Manuel Ugarte tried to ignite a counter-attack with a long ball from his own box, and Mbeumo hit a sizzling 36.34 km/h as he attempted to get to it.

Unfortunately, Antonee Robinson had a head start and managed to clear the ball just before the Cameroonian reached it. That lung-bursting run made Mbeumo the Premier League’s seventh-fastest player last season, with Wolverhampton Wanderers full-back Jackson Tchatchoua taking top honours.

The Premier League's fastest players: 2025/26 Season

Mbeumo finished the campaign as United’s joint-top scorer, alongside Sesko, with 12 goals in all competitions. Cunha also got into double figures for the Red Devils, but the star of the show was skipper Bruno Fernandes.

Player of the Season

United’s mercurial skipper won the Premier League’s Player of the Season award following a record-breaking season, in which he registered the most assists (21) in a single campaign in the Premier League era. Fernandes also won the FWA Footballer of the Year and the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year awards.

The Portuguese ace created 136 chances in the Premier League last season, the most in the league by a fair distance. He ended the campaign with nine goals and 22 assists in all competitions.

However, the recent statistics also show that the 31 year old covered the most distance among United players in the 2025/26 season. Fernandes ran a total of 373.87 km, clocking 3,066 minutes of first- team football. For context, former United academy graduate James Garner covered the most distance in the Premier League last season, a whopping 415.46 km.

Final Thoughts

The fact that no other United player made it into the list of the Premier League’s 15 fastest players suggests that INEOS may need to add more pace to their squad this summer. The stats also highlight that Fernandes not only oozes class, but also puts in the hard work, suggesting that he is the deserving leader of the squad.

Featured image Mike Hewitt via Getty Images

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