The Premier League is renowned for the frenetic, end-to-end nature of its matches with some of the fittest and quickest footballers in the game plying their trade in England’s top-flight.
Physical specimens can be found in any position of the pitch but true speedsters are usually deployed out on the flanks where their searing pace can cause maximum damage to opposition defences.
A number of Premier League clubs are in need of adding to their wide midfield options to their squads over the summer in order to help them win the crucial battle out wide over the upcoming season.
With the start of the season a month away and the end of the summer transfer window looming at the end of August, Premier League managers will be casting their eye over a raft of targets over the coming weeks.
Here are eight wingers who could make a difference to a Premier League club despite largely flying under the radar so far this summer.
Allan Saint-Maximin (Monaco)
Key stat: Saint-Maximin completed 144 take on attempts in Ligue 1, only Neymar (168) achieved more in Europe’s top five leagues.
Monaco have already sold Bernardo Silva and are bracing themselves for further offers for Thomas Lemar which could mean Allan Saint-Maximin is retained for next season.
The French youth international is a bag of tricks, allying speed and running power with an unpredictable repertoire of tricks and skills and he could thrive in England.
Yannis Salibur (Guingamp)
Key stats: Salibur completed 81 take ons, scored eight goals and supplied 54 chances in Ligue 1.
Guingamp enjoyed a solid season last time out finishing 10th in Ligue 1 and the performances of 26-year-old Yanis Salibur on the left wing were key to their good form.
Salibur, a former French youth international, has taken a roundabout route to the top but he enjoyed a breakthrough campaign of sorts last season, emerging as a real threat owing to his dribbling prowess and end product.
Sam Larsson (Heerenveen)
Key stat: Larsson scored nine goals and registered 12 assists in the Eredivisie last season.
Heerenveen’s 24-year-old left winger Sam Larsson is one of Swedish football’s bright young hopes in the post-Zlatan era, even scoring a free-kick on his international debut against Hungary last November.
Larsson has been one of the Eredivisie’s most effective wide players since joining Heerenveen from Goteburg in his homeland in 2014 and stepped up a gear last season, reaching double figures for assists and scoring nine goals.
Amin Younes (Ajax)
Key stat: Younes succeeded with 72 take ons in the Europa League, more than double any player.
Fresh from reaching the Europa League final, Ajax started to be dismantled with manager Peter Bosz (to Dortmund) and captain Davy Klaassen (to Everton) the most high-profile departures.
It is surprising that there hasn’t been more interest in 23-year-old German livewire, Amin Younes, though, considering his exploits last season.
Quite incredibly, Younes completed more than double the number of take on attempts than anyone in last season’s Europa League competition while he also impressed at the Confederations Cup.
Pione Sisto (Celta Vigo)
Key stat: Sisto completed 55 take ons last season, more than any other player at his club.
Pione Sisto will be well known to supports of Manchester United by now as he has played against them four times in the past two seasons in the Europa League, initially for Danish side FC Midtjylland and most recently Celta Vigo.
The 22-year-old Danish international moved to Galicia last summer and enjoyed a solid debut season in Spain, succeeding with 55 take on attempts as well as scoring and assisting three goals apiece.
Jeremie Boga (Chelsea)
Key stat: Boga succeeded with 3.33 take on attempts more game, the second-highest total in La Liga for players with 10+ appearances.
A number of Chelsea youngsters have been loaned out already this summer with Tammy Abraham and Kasey Palmer moving to Premier League clubs Swansea and Huddersfield respectively.
More are expected to follow and 20-year-old Jeremie Boga, often cited as one of the clubs most promising youngsters, could be another to move to a rival top-flight club.
Despite playing for a wretched Granada side, Boga caught the eye in La Liga with his running ability, completing 54 take ons in 26 matches and scoring against Barcelona.
Pedro Leon (Eibar)
Key stat: Pedro Leon directly contributed towards 15 La Liga goals last season (10 goals, five assists)
Pedro Leon may be at the other end of the age spectrum as he is now 30, but he has just enjoyed the finest season of his career, demonstrating the potential that once persuaded Real Madrid to sign him.
That difficult spell at the Bernabeu under Jose Mourinho tarnished the diminutive right wingers reputation unfairly and it was great to see him come of age for plucky Eibar last term, scoring ten times and creating 82 chances in total.
Marcel Sabitzer (RB Leipzig)
Key stat: Sabitzer scored eight goals in the Bundesliga last season.
An unheralded member of the RB Leipzig side that secured a 2nd place finish in their maiden Bundesliga campaign, Austrian international Marcel Sabitzer was nevertheless an influential player from the right wing.
The 23-year-old isn’t a classic winger who hugs the touchline and beats players, instead, he looks to drift into pockets of space where he can score or assist and he did so well last term, managing eight and four respectively.
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