Premier League footballers come in all shapes and sizes and some of the tallest in world football have graced the English top-flight, to varying degrees of success and failure.
From target men in attack to no-nonsense defenders, combative midfielders and enormous goalkeepers, the Premier League has produced bang for its buck regarding those who are on the bigger side height-wise and they have helped enrich both the technical quality of the division, alongside bringing physical prowess and dominance aerially.
With that in mind, Football FanCast takes a look at the tallest ten players that are currently playing in the Premier League and how they fared during their time in England.
10 Radek Vitek – Manchester United
Coming in at around the 6ft 5in mark, Manchester United third-choice goalkeeper Radek Vitek props up this list, despite having yet to make his first-team bow for the Red Devils.
Born in Vsetin, Vitek joined Manchester United in 2020 from FORTUNA:LIGA side Sigma Olomouc in his homeland and has progressed through the youth ranks in the North West.
As per The Athletic, Vitek has been likened to goalkeeping greats such as Petr Cech and Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel, which is quite a testament to his potential between the sticks. During the Red Devils’ pre-season tour of the United States, Vitek replaced Nathan Bishop in his side’s 3-1 defeat to Wrexham in San Diego, as cited by The Mirror.
Nevertheless, the Czechia Under-20 international endured a nightmare in his last competitive appearance, shipping eight goals in an 8-1 defeat for Manchester United’s second string against Bolton in the EFL Trophy.
9 Jordan Amissah – Sheffield United
Little-known Sheffield United goalkeeper Jordan Amissah comes in at number nine and stands at around 6ft 6in. If you haven’t guessed already, quite a few goalkeepers will be present in this list, though we will also include some outfield players later down the line.
Amissah has made just one appearance across all competitions since pitching up at Bramall Lane as a 16-year-old; however, he has gained valuable first-team experience on loan at the likes of Burton Albion, Guiseley and Spennymoor Town, as per Transfermarkt.
Born in Germany, Amissah is of Ghanaian descent and featured at Under-23 level for his ancestral nation earlier this year, as cited by Sports Brief.
8 Nick Pope – Newcastle United
Newcastle United’s Nick Pope comes in at number eight and his performances in the North East have made him one of the most reliable shot-stoppers in world football in the last couple of years.
Weighing in at 6ft 6in, Pope has provided a pair of safe hands between the sticks for the Magpies this term, racking up five clean sheets in his opening nine appearances at the time of writing, as per Transfermarkt.
In the Premier League, the 31-year-old has maintained a save percentage rate of 72% from 25 shots faced in 2023/24, according to FBRef.
Back in January, former Newcastle United striker Les Ferdinand claimed that Pope has been the best signing of Eddie Howe’s tenure at St James’ Park, stating on Sky Sports via Chronicle Live: “Okay, I think he’s got a very good defence in front of him, but he’s the last part of that defence and he’s made some outstanding saves this season. You’re right; he could be pound-for-pound the best signing that they have made.”
7 Arijanet Muric – Burnley
Burnley stopper Arijanet Muric is also 6ft 6in and has found game time hard to come by at Turf Moor this term behind James Trafford; however, the Kosovo international has featured twice in EFL Cup action, as per Transfermarkt.
Vincent Kompany has referenced the ongoing battle for the number one jersey at Burnley earlier this year, stating in an interview cited by The Burnley Express: “It’s not a big conversation for us. It’s part of the culture. Both have handled it really well, but it’s not been a big deal, it’s not been a big conversation. The main thing for me is to have that genuine competition in all positions, including the goalkeeping position.”
Compared to his positional peers in the next 14 men’s competitions, Muric has excelled in the art of crosses stopped, preventing around 13% of balls across faced per 90 minutes in the last 365 days, putting him in the 97th percentile for this metric, according to FBRef.
6 Wayne Hennessey – Nottingham Forest
Vastly experienced Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey makes it into the top ten and is also 6ft 6in tall, albeit as someone who is a bit-part player for his current employers.
In his time at the City Ground, the Wales international has managed just nine appearances for Nottingham Forest; nevertheless, he has enjoyed a distinguished career and will be fondly remembered by fans of Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers in particular, as per Transfermarkt.
5 Altay Bayindir – Manchester United
Oh, look, another goalkeeper! Manchester United new boy Altay Bayindir is also 6ft 6in tall and despite being yet to make an appearance for the Red Devils, his time will surely come to make an impact at Old Trafford.
Erik Ten Hag’s men forked out £4.3 million to bring the Turkey international to Manchester United in the summer following his exploits at Fenerbache, which saw him keep 44 clean sheets in 145 appearances for the Super Lig giants.
Manchester United boss Ten Hag has indicated that he is happy with the standard of his goalkeeping options at Old Trafford, stating via the Red Devils’ official website: “He makes a very good impression in training, he’s really developing, progressing. So we’re very happy with that and we are convinced we have the two right goalkeepers in our squad to do the job for us.”
4 Sasa Kalajdzic – Wolverhampton Wanderers
Finally, we have an outfield player in Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Sasa Kalajdzic, who is an extremely difficult presence for defenders to handle, seeing as he is 6ft 7in.
Kalajdzic has made a fine start to life this campaign, notching two goals and one assist in five outings for Wolverhampton Wanderers across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.
The Austria international picked up a serious ACL injury on his debut last campaign against Southampton; however, he now looks to be getting closer to his best form under ex-Bournemouth boss O’Neil and the rangy striker has already started to repay the initial £15.5 million fee splashed out on him by Bruno Lage in 2022.
Wolverhampton Wanderers boss O’Neil claimed that Kalajdzic has the ability to “impact matches” for the Old Gold on a regular basis following his winning goal away to Everton back in August and the 40-year-old also revealed that the target man is a highly-valued member of the dressing room at Molineux, stating via The Daily Mail: “Sasa is popular in the dressing-room. Very highly thought of in the group.”
3 Fraser Forster – Tottenham Hotspur
For anyone who supports a club that Fraser Forster has played for or if you have seen your side face the former Celtic goalkeeper, you’ll know especially well just how much of the goal he seems to take up.
Now on the books of Tottenham Hotspur, the Hexham-born man, who is now 35, plays a supporting role behind Lilywhites’ number one Guglielmo Vicario. However, Forster did appear for Spurs this term in their EFL Cup exit to Fulham in late August, which is his only appearance so far in 2023/24.
The former England international started out at Newcastle United and has enjoyed positive spells at Norwich City and Southampton along the way. Nevertheless, his most famed work came at Scottish Premiership giants Celtic, where he featured 234 times for the Hoops across two spells at the club, keeping 118 clean sheets in the process.
Cited by The Daily Star, football icon Lionel Messi described Forster’s exploits against Barcelona in 2012 for Celtic in the Champions League over two games as the best goalkeeping displays he has ever witnessed, as he said: “The performances of Fraser Forster against us were talked about for a long time. There was one game in Scotland where he was not human; it is the best goalkeeping performance I have seen.”
2 Dan Burn
There may be a point of contention concerning whether Newcastle United defender Dan Burn is indeed taller than Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Forster, though it has to be noted that a matter of centimetres has determined most players on this list, so feel free to draw your own conclusions.
31-year-old Burn is also 6ft 7in and his story is one to be admired, all things considered, as he is now featuring for his boyhood club on the biggest stage in club football, making nearly 70 appearances since arriving from Brighton & Hove Albion in 2022 for £13 million.
For the most part, Burn has stumped teammate Matt Targett to become Eddie Howe’s preferred choice at left-back despite being a central defender by trade and it surely can’t be too long before Gareth Southgate looks to call up the Blyth-born defender to represent England at international level.
1 Lucas Bergstrom
Finland and Chelsea goalkeeper Lucas Bergstrom comes in as the top dog on this list, standing at 6ft 7in tall and carrying an imposing presence in the goalmouth.
The Pargas-born stopper has never made a first-team appearance for the Blues; however, he did spend time out on loan at Peterborough United last term, playing his part in nine shut-outs within 28 outings at the London Road Stadium.
Robert Sanchez looks to be leading the way as the first-choice goalkeeper at Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino, with Djordje Petrovic second in command, which may mean that the 21-year-old could have to leave Stamford Bridge to seek regular football.