Premier League family dynasty continues as Rio Ferdinand's son signs professional terms

Rio Ferdinand's son has signed for Brighton.

The name 'Ferdinand' is already established in Premier League lore - and now the next generation of want their turn.

First it was former Newcastle, Tottenham and England striker Les, who scored 149 goals in the competition to put himself 12th on the all-time goalscorers list.

Then came his second cousins, Rio and Anton, who both enjoyed long top flight careers, with former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand ranked at No.1 in FourFourTwo's list of the best Premier League defenders of all time

Tate Ferdinand signs professional contract with Brighton

Rio Ferdinand has two sons in Brighton's academy (Image credit: Getty Images)

Next off the Ferdinand production line are Rio's sons Lorenz and Tate, with the latter having just signed his first professional contract with Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion.

Tate takes after his dad and plays as a defender, trying to protect his brother and U21s teammate, goalkeeper Lorenz, who himself signed a contract just two weeks ago.

Rio Ferdinand made his England debut aged just 19 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Rio posted on Instagram: "Proud moment with the family, my boy @tateferdinand5 signed his first pro contract @officialbhafc ✍🏽💙 Keep up the hard work."

We quite like the fact that Terry Crews, of all people, has replied with three fire emoji.

Tate spent much of last season playing for the Seagulls' U18s side before being bumped up to the U21s.

Brighton youth coach Bjorn Hamberg would not enjoy the timbre of this report, though, saying: "Tate Ferdinand is Tate Ferdinand and he needs to be play his game and have his pathway and career.

"For us as a team, for the under-18s as a captain, he is a big voice in our dressing room. He is obviously a leader in the back line and playing very well for the moment. I am really pleased for him as well."

Rio Ferdinand celebrates after scoring for Manchester United against Dynamo Kyiv, 2007 (Image credit: Getty Images)

After coming through the youth ranks at West Ham, Rio became the world's most expensive defender when he moved to Leeds for a then-whopping £18m in 2000.

Ferdinand reclaimed that record less than two years later when Manchester United paid £33.3m for his services.

He proved to be well worth the money, spending 12 years at the club and helping Sir Alex Ferguson's side to claim six Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League trophy.