Heskey brothers - sons of ex-England striker Emile - make Man City debuts

When the travelling Manchester City fans at Huddersfield sang the names of Yaya and Kolo Toure among their usual repertoire of songs for former players, they might not have expected to see another set of brothers step on to the pitch in Yorkshire not long after.

However, after Pep Guardiola's side went 2-0 up against their League One hosts in the Carabao Cup, the manager turned to his bench and beckoned forward brothers Reigan and Jaden Heskey, who are the sons of ex-England striker Emile.

After being given their instructions from a bench which included Kolo Toure, now part of City's backroom staff, and 10 years on from dad Emile's last EFL Cup appearance, fans got to witness his sons making their first-team debuts for the club.

"Today, six players from the academy made the starting XI," said Guardiola.

"Two more came on, the Heskey brothers. I think their father and mother will be so proud of their kids. That's really cool."

Reigan, the younger of the siblings at 17, is described as a "tricky, clinical winger" on City's website, while Jaden, two years older, is seen as a "mature, hard-working" box-to-box midfielder.

The pair have been regulars in City's academy sides, with both brothers joining the youth set-up at the age of eight.

Jaden, who regularly captains City's U21 side, scored as City beat Leeds 4-0 to lift the FA Youth Cup in 2024.

Despite playing in different positions, father Emile says the pair have similar qualities.

"They're similar to me," Heskey told the Mail, external in August. "They are both very athletic.

"The young one is very quick. The older one is a bit of a beast like I was.

"They've both got similar attributes."

Against Huddersfield, Jaden got 14 minutes, replacing fellow academy graduate Nico O'Reilly, with Reigan coming on for Savinho shortly after.

The pair attracted interest from a number of clubs in England from a young age but City were seen as the best for their development.

"I've been lucky in a sense that they're arguably one of the best, if not the best academy [City] to be at for development," Emile said in 2024.

"So you just leave them and let them enjoy that journey.

"And then obviously getting into first-team football, well, under-21s football and then first-team football, it's a little bit different and they'll probably need a bit of guidance then."

After joining Leicester City's academy at the age of nine, the forward made his first-team debut at the age of 17 in a Premier League match against Queens Park Rangers in 1995.

It was in the following season, after Leicester's relegation, that Heskey became a regular with his boyhood club, scoring seven goals in 35 appearances.

The striker helped the Foxes back into the Premier League, before tasting League Cup success under Martin O'Neil in 1997 and 2000.

Standing 6ft 2in and powerfully built, as a centre-forward Heksey was a target man whose ability to hold the ball up and bring others into play made him a great partner for the likes of former England striker Michael Owen.

Heskey made his England debut in 1999, before earning a club record £11m move to Liverpool in 2000.

Heskey scored 22 goals in 56 appearances during his first full season at Anfield, as the Reds won the Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup.

He spent five years at Liverpool before joining Birmingham City, where Heskey scored 16 goals in 78 appearances.

Spells at Wigan and Aston Villa followed, before Heskey spent two years with Australian side the Newcastle Jets.

He finished his career with two seasons at Bolton Wanderers in the Championship.

Heskey scored seven goals in 62 appearances for England, and appeared at two World Cups for the Three Lions.

Jaden and Reigan will be hoping that, having made their club debuts, appearances in the Premier League will follow.

Should they make their Premier League bows, the pair would join an exclusive list of players who have followed their fathers into the Premier League.

City striker Erling Haaland is perhaps the most famous son of a former Premier League player, having followed ex-Leeds and City defender Alf-Inge in playing in England.

Justin Kluivert, son of former Newcastle and Netherlands striker Patrick, is a winger at Bournemouth, while Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel emulated father Peter in winning the Premier League with Leicester City in 2016.

Chelsea striker Liam Delap is the son of former Stoke City defender Rory, while former Arsenal striker Ian Wright is the father of Manchester City pair Shaun Wright-Phillips and Bradley Wright-Phillips.