Liverpool trio Bobby Clark, Jayden Danns and Lewis Koumas have all followed in the footsteps of their fathers by becoming professional footballers.
The youngsters have hit the headlines recently by featuring in the Carabao Cup final side which beat Chelsea, and followed it up with a fine 3-0 win at home to Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round in which Koumas and Danns both got on the scoresheet.
Clark’s dad Lee enjoyed a successful career at the top level with Newcastle United, Sunderland and Fulham. Neil Danns had a much travelled career, featuring for the likes of Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Birmingham City and many others, while Jason Koumas was a Welsh international who is mostly remembered for his spells at Tranmere Rovers and West Bromwich Albion.
But they are far from the only players to have followed their dads into professional football. Here are nine current youngsters whose fathers enjoyed successful playing careers…
Charlie Savage
Embed from Getty ImagesSon of Welsh international footballer Robbie Savage, who made his name at club level playing for Leicester City, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County and others. Like his father, Charlie is also a midfielder and also started out in the Manchester United academy before being loaned out for his first men’s football experience at Forest Green Rovers, where he made 15 appearances and scored one goal. The 20-year-old then made the permanent move to Reading and has settled in well in Berkshire, scoring five times and assisting twice in 38 appearances so far this season. Can Savage replicate his father’s career and represent Wales on the international stage? He is still young, and has made a very promising start to his career.
James Carragher
Embed from Getty ImagesSon of Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, who made 737 appearances for the Reds and won the FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League with the club, while also gaining 38 caps for England. 21-year-old James is also plying his trade as a central defender like his father and is currently on loan at Inverness in Scotland from his parent club Wigan. He has started brightly in the Scottish Championship – making five first-team appearances since joining at the beginning of this year. He may not reach the heights that his father reached, but James is on the right path to becoming a solid professional.
Justin Kluivert
Embed from Getty ImagesSon of legendary striker Patrick Kluivert, who was a Champions League winner with Ajax before going on to play for AC Milan, Barcelona, Newcastle United and others. Justin, a tricky winger, also came through the academy at Ajax and played for the first team, making 44 league appearances across two seasons for the Dutch outfit before moving to Italy and joining Roma for €17.3M.
The 24 year-old made 56 appearances, scoring 13 goals before he had three consecutive loan moves to RB Leipzig, Nice and Valencia. He finally got a permanent move in the summer, joining Premier League side Bournemouth for €11.2M meaning he has already played in all five of the top leagues in Europe since leaving Ajax. Like his father, Justin made his debut for Netherlands at the age of 18, making the Kluiverts the first teenage father-son debutants in Netherlands’ history.
Timothy Weah
Embed from Getty ImagesSon of former Ballon D’Or winner and now President of Liberia George Weah, who was named as the best player in the world in 1995 and won league titles at both PSG and AC Milan. Timothy too played for PSG before being loaned to Celtic, where he scored four times in 17 appearances in the 2018/19 season. Ligue One side Lille then snapped up Weah for €10M, where he won the league title in 2021. The following season he failed to score for Lille and was sold to Juventus in the summer for €11.3M, where he has played 23 times this season. Being the son of a Ballon D’Or winner certainly comes with a lot of expectation but the USA international is still only 24 and has plenty of time left to become a star like his father.
Devante Cole
Embed from Getty ImagesAndrew Cole’s son Devante has had a superb career in the lower leagues, and has scored goals everywhere he has gone. Currently at Barnsley, the 28 year-old has surpassed last year’s goal tally of 15 already, with 17 goals as Barnsley look to return to the Championship. Starting in Manchester City’s academy, Cole junior had two loan spells at Barnsley and MK Dons before being released by City in 2015. From there he was picked up as a free agent by Bradford City and then had spells at Fleetwood, Wigan, Burton Albion, Motherwell and Doncaster before rejoining Barnsley and is recognised as one of League One’s most talented strikers.
Andrew Cole is remembered as one of the Premier League’s best ever strikers, ranking fourth in the list of all-time top scorers with 187 goals and while Devante has yet to reach the top level, he is forging a fine career for himself lower down the leagues.
Erling Haaland
Embed from Getty ImagesErling Haaland, son of former Manchester City midfielder Alf-Inge Haaland, has become one of the world’s best strikers, winning the treble in his first season at the club where his father spent three years following spells at Nottingham Forest and Leeds United. Alf-Inge enjoyed a solid career but while many of the names on this list have so far failed to match their father’s achievements, Erling has already surpassed what his dad did in football. He has scored 53 goals in 56 Premier League games since joining City and looks a certainty to win many more honours in his career.
Daniel Maldini
Embed from Getty ImagesLegendary Italian centre-back Paolo Maldini played over 1,000 games in his career, winning seven Serie A titles and five Champions Leagues with AC Milan. Unlike his father, Daniel Maldini plays as an attacking midfielder and is the third generation of Maldini men to play for AC Milan. The 22-year-old has so far failed to nail down a place in the Milan first team and is currently out on loan at Italian side Monza.
Tyrese Campbell
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Stoke City striker is the son of Kevin Campbell, who played for Arsenal, West Brom, Everton and Nottingham Forest where he scored over 100 goals across his career. His son Tyrese made his Premier League debut for Stoke in 2018, before the Potters were relegated. The 24 year-old is still playing for Stoke but only has two goals to his name this season after hitting nine in the previous Champioship campaign.
Giovanni Simeone
Embed from Getty ImagesHis father is Diego Simeone, current manager and former player of Atletico Madrid, as well as Sevilla, Inter Milan and Lazio. He also played more than 100 times for his national side Argentina. Fellow midfielder Giovanni, meanwhile, is currently playing for Napoli following a successful loan spell at the club last season from Hellas Verona. His best season so far came at Verona, scoring 17 goals in 35 league appearances. He also recorded double figures at both Genoa and Cagliari but his father has vowed that he would never sign his son, claiming it would damage their relationship.
