The rise of social media wasn’t kind to Emile Heskey, but before the memes, he was genuinely one of the most talented strikers in the Premier League.

Injuries and a decline in the unforgiving eyes of a new, chronically online generation made it easy to forget about the good times, but when Heskey was at his best, there were plenty of times where he was unplayable.

Goals, assists and an iconic celebration, the multi-faceted striker was perhaps even a little ahead of his time with the way he’d work in specific systems these days.

If you don’t want to take our word for it and you’re somehow now moved by the tapes, you needn’t look any further than his youngest son Reigan, who has clearly inherited the football gene from his father and is now flying for Manchester City.

Liverpool fans will be aggrieved knowing a former player’s son is doing the business in a rival’s academy, but their loss isn’t just City’s gain.

Reigan Heskey – an England under-17 international – has all the tools and potential to be doing the business for the Three Lions in the future if all goes to plan.

The sickener? He wasn’t even one when his father moved to Aston Villa in January 2009. Yes, you are that old.

Why are we telling you this? Because he’s good at football. Just like his dad. Like, really bloody good. To the point where his most recent 22-minute hat-trick in the Premier League 2 – an under-21 competition – has us convinced that he’s going to be a second-generation England star.

Watch the video through the link below:

https://twitter.com/explore?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1852463245967167546%7Ctwgr%5E8ec22f7b85f7df4b8edceb97df04874b21d49830%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.planetfootball.com%2Fmanchester-city%2Fthe-son-of-a-barclays-hero-is-writing-his-own-story-at-man-city-one-hat-trick-at-a-time

Generational in every sense of the word, rumour has it that Cody Rhodes is jealous of how the Heskey name is about to hold a stronger sporting legacy than his own family.

And with that outrageous hat-trick from the substitutes bench, you can see why. This kid is a freak.

Comfortable on both feet, Heskey possesses a wicked drop of the shoulder and hips that can send any unfortunate defender spinning to the floor.

His hat-trick was the perfect showcase of his abilities. Impact from the bench, a constant goal threat and a nightmare for defenders and a goalkeeper to anticipate, with his balance complimenting that brilliant shooting.

The Norwich goalkeeper could’ve done better with Heskey’s third, but when he’s shifting the ball and finding an angle that quickly, it’s honestly difficult to put too much blame onto him.

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Heskey is already punching well above his weight and will continue to do so with such technical excellence. Emile’s youngest son has six goals and four assists from seven Premier League 2 appearances this season and doesn’t turn 17 until January. That is absurd.

Telling Manchester City’s website that it was a good performance, young Reigan added: “I came on and made an impact which is what I try to do every time so it was a good performance.

“The pressure of having them [other teams] behind us gives us motivation to play well every week.”

Not only does he play well, he speaks well too. And with older brother Jayden also balling out for City’s youth sides, it’s abundantly clear that football is in the Heskey blood.

Emile was once the head of the table, but we predict Reigan will be taking over as the leader of the bloodline – and perhaps City and England’s front line – before we know it.