The long throw is back — and the numbers from the 2025/26 Premier League season prove it is no longer an afterthought. It is one of the most effective weapons in top-flight football right now, and every single club in the division is using it.
How Did The Numbers Explode?
This season has seen a staggering 162% rise in long throws into the penalty area compared to 2024/25. The average has rocketed to 3.99 long throws per match — up from just 1.52 last season. In the first nine matchweeks alone, all 20 Premier League clubs attempted a minimum of three long throws into the opposition penalty area.
Goals from long throws are now being scored once every 11 games, compared to once every 27 last season. With less than a quarter of the campaign played at the time of writing, the 2025/26 season had already produced more long throws than the entirety of the 2020/21 season.
For perhaps the first time in Premier League history, teams without a player capable of throwing over 35 metres are considered to be at a disadvantage.
Which Teams Use The Long Throw Most?
Brentford lead the way. Head coach Keith Andrews has three dedicated long throw specialists at his disposal — Michael Kayode, Mathias Jensen and Kevin Schade — and the Bees have launched 47 long throws into the opposition penalty area, mo
re than any other club in the division.Crystal Palace are close behind with 38, followed by Sunderland (33), Bournemouth (30) and Tottenham (27). But the most telling statistic is this — every single one of the 20 top-flight clubs is now using the long throw as a tactical weapon.
Which Teams Are Most Effective?
Volume is one thing. Accuracy is another. Crystal Palace are the most clinical long throw operation in the Premier League. Chris Richards and Jefferson Lerma combine to give the Eagles a 34% success rate — finding a teammate with one in three long throws. That is double Brentford’s rate.
Palace lead the division for both shots and Expected Goals (xG) from long throw situations, with 18 shots and 2.03 xG. Brentford follow with 17 shots and 1.53 xG, alongside Sunderland on the same figure.
Both Palace and Brentford have scored twice from long throws, accounting for half of all top-flight goals from this type of set piece across the first 90 matches of the season.
The Longest Throw-Ins Of The Season
So who is throwing the ball the furthest? Here are the longest single throws recorded in the 2025/26 Premier League season:
- Mathias Jensen (Brentford) — 45.38m
- Diogo Dalot (Manchester United) — 38.63m
- Michael Kayode (Brentford) — 38.52m
- Lucas Bergvall (Tottenham) — 38.22m
- Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United) — 37.82m
- Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City) — 37.05m
- Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal) — 37.04m
- Kevin Schade (Brentford) — 36.49m
Mathias Jensen’s 45.38m throw against Nottingham Forest in Matchweek 1 tops the list — almost half the length of a football pitch from a throw-in. However it is worth noting that the ball bounced several times across the face of goal before anyone got a touch, making it an unusual entry at the top.
Diogo Dalot therefore holds the longest orthodox throw of the season at 38.63m, launched during Manchester United’s win at Anfield. Michael Kayode is the most consistent long throw weapon in the division — seven of the top 15 longest throws of the season belong to him, with his best effort reaching 38.52m against Fulham.
The Most Accurate Long Throw Specialists
Distance is only part of the story. Accuracy separates the good from the great. Here are the players finding teammates most consistently with their long throws:
- Tino Livramento (Newcastle) — 38.5% success rate
- Chris Richards (Crystal Palace) — 34.4% success rate
- Nordi Mukiele (Sunderland) — 24.2% success rate
- Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City) — 24.0% success rate
- Michael Kayode (Brentford) — 16.7% success rate
Livramento’s 38.5% success rate is the best in the division, and Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has built one of the tallest squads in the league specifically to capitalise on this weapon.
What Does This Mean For Grassroots Players?
The message from the Premier League is clear — the throw-in is a set piece. A weapon. An opportunity to create goal scoring chances from anywhere on the touchline.
If the best clubs in the country are investing in long throw specialists and set piece coaches, grassroots players and coaches should be paying attention. Training your throw-in is no longer optional if you want to be taken seriously as a complete player.
Building real throw-in power starts with training the right movement with the right resistance. Our tap adapter turns any standard football into a weighted training ball in minutes — filling it with water at any tap. No gym. No specialist equipment. Just the right training done consistently.
The long throw is back at the highest level. Make sure yours is ready for next season.