2 weeks Ago
INDUSTRY and reliability were among the reasons why Saints pushed so hard to bring loanee Flynn Downes back to the club earlier this summer. Downes, 25, had become essential to the Saints side both in and out of possession under former Swansea City boss Russell Martin last campaign. Martin feared Downes would choose a return to Ipswich Town, who also tabled a bid for his services to West Ham, but he eventually opted for St Mary's.
The £18million signing is still looking to prove himself in the Premier League but he leads the way for distance coveted on the pitch this campaign. No player in the Premier League has run more than midfielder Flynn Downes, who has already clocked up a total distance of 116.445km.
This would be the equivalent of Downes running from St Mary's up the A31 and all the way to the River Thames in Wandsworth. Predicted Flynn Downes heatmap by 5pm: #SaintsFC pic.twitter.
com/kh6yEUjYTl — Alfie House (@AlfieHouseEcho) April 13, 2024 Next closest are Arsenal's Kai Havertz (111.157km), Newcastle's Bruno Guimarães (110.830km), Everton's Dwight McNeil (110.
693km) and Bournemouth's Lewis Cook (108.427km). Saints ace Downes covers more than 11.
6km per 90-minute match on average and he has played every minute of the league campaign so far. Distance covered will often come down to a competition between the players who have played the most most minutes and it is no different at Saints. Stalwart Jan Bednarek is second on the Saints list for distance covered (92.
857km) and minutes played while Taylor Harwood-Bellis is third (83.137km). Downes has also completed the most sprints of any Saints player at 143, 28 more than the club's next highest-ranked - Cameron Archer (115).
Saints are ranked eighth in the Premier League for total distance covered as a team, having clocked up nearly 1093km in 10 matches. Brentford, Bournemouth, Brighton, Ipswich, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Newcastle United are the seven teams who have run more than Saints. Thomas Frank's Bees, who lead the way in this metric, have covered almost exactly 30km more than Saints by clocking a total of 1122.
636km. Interestingly, after every team has five games each home and away, Saints are only 11th in the table for distance covered in home matches. Man United, Liverpool and West Ham have all moved more on their home turf but have produced more static performances than Saints on the road.
"Whatever way you play, you have to run and fight," said Martin, speaking after his side picked up their first win of the season against Everton on Saturday. Data showing Premier League running distance metrics (Image: SDE).
