Sons of iconic Barclaysmen breaking through in 2026
When they were doing battle in the Barclays era, Emile Heskey and Christopher Samba presumably did not envisage sharing a parents’ lounge a generation later…
Enough time has passed since that golden age of top-flight football whereby the shining stars are old enough to have fully-grown kids. Which, frankly, is all too depressing.
Here are five sons of memorable Barclays-era Premier League footballers set to catch the eye in the coming months and years…
Floyd Samba
The birth of Floyd in January 2009 perhaps prompted Samba Sr to strive for his peak since the centre-back’s colossal form in 2008-09 prompted Blackburn to give him a bumper five-year contract while the Lancashire Telegraph described the then-25-year-old, signed for £450,000 from Hertha Berlin, as ‘one of the bargains in Premier League history’.
That was Big Sam’s Blackburn, the one that played in Europe, not the chicken-bothering, Championship dwellers Blackburn were to become under Venky’s and Steve Kean.
Samba eventually left Rovers for Anzhi Makhachkala when the Russians were making it rain roubles.
Before that, though, Samba showed there might some attacking instincts in the genes when he played up front as an emergency striker for Rovers just after Floyd’s birth.
Fast-forward 17 years, and Samba Jr is slotting for Manchester City, scoring twice on his debut in the Carabao Cup against Norwich.
Even more impressive is the fact he was playing out of position: “I asked him in the last three, four days – when I decided to play him as nine – he said he never played there. He is not a nine for sure, but he was good,” said Enzo Maresca.
Keep an eye out too for his older brother Tyrone, who is also coming through the ranks at City as a forward.
Lewis Koumas
While Samba Sr was locking down Blackburn in the late noughties, down the road, Jason Koumas was patrolling Wigan’s midfield.
Both were proud dads this week, with Koumas Sr watching son Lewis earn the Man of the Match award on his second start for Liverpool.
His first came more than two years ago when he scored on his debut in the FA Cup against Southampton.
That was under Jurgen Klopp and Koumas wasn’t seen in a red shirt for Arne Slot. But Andoni Iraola was adamant in pre-season that the forward should stay at Anfield rather than be loaned out again following spells at Stoke and Birmingham.
A total of 907 days separated Koumas’s first and second Liverpool appearances but the 20-year-old is set to be a regular face around the Reds’ squad this season, even if he has almost £500million-worth of attackers to get past.
Reggie Watson
The Watson name is already pure football heritage after father Ben buried an added-time header past Manchester City to win the FA Cup for Wigan in 2013.
It was a steady ascent into the history books for Watson Sr, who came through at Palace before joining the Latics, while also taking in loan spells at QPR and West Brom.
His boy seems to be taking a less scenic, more direct route to the very top, despite also starting at Palace. Reggie swapped the Eagles for Chelsea when he was Under-15s.
Before the end of his Under-16s year, the midfielder started for Chelsea in Xabi Alonso’s first match in charge on the pre-season tour.
Those were not charity minutes for the 16-year-old, born in Bromley while his old man was on loan at QPR. Alonso picked him to start again in the daft 6-3 Carabao Cup win over Leeds.
Mathis Eboue
Given how his marriage to Aurelie Bertrand ended and the manner in which his life subsequently spiralled, Eboue might curse the day he met his Belgian ex-wife had they not had three children together.
The ex-midfielder, who overcame being booed by his own supporters at Arsenal to go on to become a cult hero, lost much of the fortune built up in the Barclays era around the same time he went through a messy divorce, in which Eboue also lost a custody battle over his two daughters and his son.
Eboue’s boy, Mathis, was born in Watford when his dad was at Arsenal, and from the Hornets’ academy he joined Chelsea in 2025.
The 17-year-old has been capped at England Under-16 and Under-17 level tends to operate as an inverted winger off the left, and has so far made it as far Chelsea’s bench at Anfield last May.
Eboue Jr, though, is estranged from his father, who has spoken numerous times of his hurt over missing milestones, such as Mathis signing his first professional contract earlier this year.
Reigan and Jaden Heskey
Like Chris Samba, ex-England international Heskey – to whom you should need no introduction – had two of his boys enrolled at Manchester City until 18-year-old Reigan was sold to Cologne in the summer for £8million.
Reigan signed off with the winning goal in the FA Youth Cup final against Manchester United in May before moving to Germany. The Heskey name, though, remains on the books at City through older brother Jaden.
Jaden, 20, has also scored in an FA Youth Cup final triumph, in 2024 against Leeds United. He has since made his senior debut, alongside his little bro, in a Carabao Cup win at Huddersfield last season.
Heskey’s oldest boy has also flown the City nest, though only temporarily and to somewhere rather closer to his Manchester home. Jaden joined Sheffield Wednesday for the second half of last season before moving back to Hillsborough in the summer for a season on League One.
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