Kasper Schmeichel, Tom Ince & three other Man United players’ sons who followed in their dads’ footsteps

Charlie Savage, alongside Zidane Iqbal and Tom Heaton, became the latest Manchester United academy graduates to make their senior debut for the club against Young Boys last week.

The former, who is son of ex-footballer turned pundit Robbie Savage, joined a list of former United players whose sons have followed in their father’s footsteps and made their debut in the beautiful game.

Unlike Savage, the sons in question never made an appearance for the Red Devils, however, did take to the field for a number of teams during their careers.

With that being said, let’s take a look at five other ex-United players’ sons who have also gone on to make their senior debuts.

Harvey Neville

Harvey Neville is the son of former Red Devils’ defender and current Inter Miami manager Phil Neville.

Harvey, who plays as a defender, is a former United academy player until Phil took the Miami role and he followed his father to the United States.

The 19-year-old made his senior debut for Inter’s reserve team Fort Lauderdale CF in the third-tier of the soccer pyramid last season and has since been promoted to the first team squad ahead of the new campaign.

Neville also has a under-19s cap under his belt for Ireland, having made his debut for them in October 2019 against Denmark.

Charlie Sheringham

Son of three-time Premier League winner Teddy Sheringham, Charlie Sheringham has only a handful of professional football appearances to his name, having spent the majority of his career in non-league.

The 33-year-old has been somewhat of a journeyman having played for 15 different clubs, and has spent time in England, the United States and Bangladesh.

Much like his father, Sheringham is a striker and currently features for National League South side Chelmsford City, having joined the club at the beginning of the 2021-22 season.

He has also had stints as a coach at Crystal Palace’s and West Ham United’s academies, while away from football he is the football and development officer at Forest School.

Tom Ince

Stockport-born Tom Ince is son of former United midfielder Paul Ince and came through the youth ranks at one of the club’s biggest rivals Liverpool.

Tom isn’t a central-midfielder like his father, he is predominantly a winger but can also play in the number 10 role.

Now 29, he has gained experience with the likes of Blackpool, Hull City, Derby County and Stoke City to name a few clubs.

During his tenure with the formerly mentioned team, he was named the Football League’s Young Play of The Year for the 2012-13 season, as well as in the PFA Team of The Year for that year.

Alex Bruce

A no-nonsense centre-back like his father Steve Bruce, Alex Bruce is still playing at the age of 37 for ninth-tier Macclesfield FC.

The defender is a serial promotion winner, having won the League One play-offs with Sheffield Wednesday in 2005, as well as being runner-up with Hull City in the Championship in 2013 and a play-off winner in the same league with the Tigers in 2016.

Alex possesses leadership qualities like Steve, who was a former Red Devils’ captain, and has taken the armband for several of his former clubs.

Bruce has also represented both Ireland and Northern Ireland at international level, however, due to his two appearances for the former being only friendly matches, was allowed to switch allegiances to the latter in 2011.

It’ll be interesting to see if Alex opts to further follow in his father’s footsteps by trying his hand at management once he hangs up his boots.

Kasper Schmeichel

The most successful player on the list, Kasper Schmeichel is the only son to replicate his father’s (Peter Schmeichel) Premier League and FA Cup winning success.

A goalkeeper by trade, Kasper is still some way off Peter’s 129 caps for the Danish National team, with 78 to his name.

The 35-year-old began his career at the team that his father finished his, Manchester City and made only eight appearances for the Sky Blues in four seasons.

After developing his game of the years, Schmeichel is now arguably one of the Premier League’s best goalkeepers and captains his current club Leicester City, who he has played for since 2011.

Though these are just five ex United players’ sons who have gone on to follow in their father’s footsteps, other honourable mentions are Romeo Beckham, son of David Beckham, who plays for Fort Lauderdale CF, and Noah Solskjaer, son of former Red Devils’ player and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is currently on loan at Sogndal in Norway’s second-division from Kristiansund BK.