All in the family: 7 sons following in footballing footsteps
In football, as in life, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
It makes sense that the offspring of a professional footballer would be genetically predisposed to following in their father's footsteps, though DNA is only half the battle with many failing to replicate the successes of their predecessors.
Top-flight squads across Europe are littered with second-generation pros the likes of Kasper Schmeichel, Jordan and Andre Ayew, Leroy Sane, Daley Blind, Thiago Alcantara, and Rafinha, but what about those that are on the verge of a breakthrough?
Here's a look at seven players with famous fathers plying their trades in top-tiers across Europe set to make a name for themselves:
Justin Kluivert (Ajax)
With a last name like Kluivert, expectations were always going to be high, and luckily for Ajax's 18-year-old prodigy Justin, the future looks bright. Father Patrick was a remarkably-skilled technical player considering his angular build, and an expert at deceiving defenders with feints.
Justin appears to possess dad's locker of trickery, and while measuring at just 5-foot-7, the 18-year-old has found a home on the wing, where he combines quickness and dribbling skills for the Amsterdam giant. After being a fringe player last season with 14 Eredivisie appearances - seven as a starter - Justin has featured four times this season under Marcel Keizer as Ajax looks to replace fellow right-sided attacker Bertrand Traore. By the way, nine-year-old Shane Kluivert is currently turning heads at La Masia.
Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina)
Widely considered one of Italy's most dynamic strikers of the mid-90s, Enrico Chiesa enjoyed a treble of spells with Sampdoria, and stops at Lazio, Fiorentina, and Parma - where he won the 1998-99 UEFA Cup - before retiring in 2010 with 22 Italy caps.
Seven years on and Enrico's 19-year-old son Federico is starring in his second campaign with La Viola, and while his father was a two-footed threat capable of scoring jaw-dropping goals, the attacking offspring is a tireless speed demon blessed with a tricky unpredictability to his game. Fresh off a first goal for Fiorentina against Bologna, Federico may not be far from a maiden Italy cap under purveyor of young talent Giam Piero Ventura.
Giovanni Simeone (Fiorentina)
Unlike the Chiesa clan, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone and his son, Fiorentina striker Giovanni (yes, the Tuscan side appear to have a nepotism fixation), are not carbon copies of one another.
Diego was a no-nonsense, tough-tackling, two-way defensive midfielder during tenures with some of Europe's biggest clubs, while Giovanni is a graceful, stylised attacker able to ply his trade anywhere along the front line. Despite playing a different position than his fiery father, Giovanni channels his tribe's tenacity for the purposes of technical football. Last season with Genoa, Giovanni, 22, bagged a dozen goals, meriting a €15-million move to La Viola, and the Argentina Under-23 international picked up where he left off with a stunning performance in a 5-0 drubbing of Hellas Verona.
Ianis Hagi (Fiorentina)
One of the most celebrated footballers of the late 1980s and early 1990s, legend Gheorghe Hagi patrolled the midfield for the likes of Steaua Bucuresti, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Galatasaray while starring for Romania during the Tricolorii's most celebrated stretch.
Like his old man, Fiorentina's Ianis Hagi is a dribbling savant noted for his playmaking ability and versatility in attack. Able to play as a winger, second striker, or in a central midfield role, Ianis, 18, has made just two substitute appearances for La Viola. But under Stefano Pioli, there's no reason to think that Hagi 2.0 won't break through with the first team this year. At Lazio, Pioli complied with the capital club's ethos of promotion from within, playing a role in the emergence of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Felipe Anderson. Ianis will hope that the Italian gaffer can do the same for him.
Tom Ince (Huddersfield Town)
The oldest member of this celebrated seven, 25-year-old Tom Ince has been pegged to follow father Paul's footsteps since emerging from Liverpool's academy in 2010.
It hasn't quite gone to plan for the versatile attacker, though after years of unfounded hype, Tom is finally in the top flight with debutant darling Huddersfield Town. With the pressure that hampered his late teenage years and early 20's all but gone, Tom is quietly going about his business with the Terriers. Blessed with pace and composure on the ball, Tom is the perfect player for David Wagner's version of Gegenpressing, and has impressed during the club's first five Premier League matches.
Marcus Thuram (Guingamp)
Widely considered one of his generation's most dominant defenders, French World Cup winner Lilian Thuram played with a lethal cocktail of tenacity and technique while with Monaco, Parma, Juventus, and Barcelona.
Like his dad, Guingamp striker Marcus is an imposing physical presence, and after spending three seasons with Sochaux in Ligue 2, the 20-year-old is getting a chance to cut his teeth in the top flight with the Bretons. With one goal in five matches, Marcus' Ligue 1 tenure is starting on the right foot on the heels of a starring role this summer with France's Under-20 outfit at the World Cup in South Korea. Marcus should excel in Antoine Koumbouare's budding squad alongside similarly heralded youngsters Ludovic Blas and Marcus Coco.
Enzo Fernandez (Alaves)
Lilian Thuram's Les Bleus brethren Zinedine Zidane is one of the most technically gifted players to ever kick a ball, and it would appear that the current Real Madrid boss is as adept at having sons as he was at leaving defenders flat-footed.
The eldest of four boys, Enzo - who goes by his mother's maiden name Fernandez - came through Real Madrid's Castilla. And while his three younger brothers Luca, Theo, and Elyaz are still in the Spanish capital, Enzo moved to Alaves in the summer after failing to secure a first-team debut with Los Blancos. Enzo, 22, has made two appearances this season for the Basque minnow, and in escaping the limelight of Real, should be able to discreetly progress.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)