‘Once-in-a-lifetime moment’ – Sessegnon twins ready to face one another in FA Cup

Steven and Ryan Sessegnon, twins, spent ten years playing for each other’s first team before moving on to Fulham’s academy.

The 24-year-old brothers could face off on the same pitch on Saturday when League One Wigan hosts Premier League Fulham in the FA Cup fourth round (15:00 GMT). The brothers, who describe themselves as “very close,” will face off in the same pitch.

Steven was getting ready for the start of his second season at Wigan when Ryan left Fulham for Tottenham for £25 million in February.

“It’s going to be very strange”, left-back Steven, the older brother by “about 25 minutes”, tells BBC Sport.

“The game is against my former club because Ryan is my twin.” It’s going to be exciting for all the family”.

Although younger brothers Chris, Yannick, and Richie won’t be there, their parents, Bridgette and Desire, will be.

“My mum and dad get nervous just watching one of us play”, says Steven.

Fulham and the Sessegnon twins have a complex relationship.

Born just down the road in Roehampton, they rapidly moved up the age groups after initially joining as under-nines, having been spotted playing for local team Wandgas.

After attending Coombe Boys’ School in New Malden, the twins would practice their skills playing in a cage next to their house when they weren’t training at Fulham’s academy.

Before turning 18 on May 18, 2018, Steven and Ryan made their senior Fulham debuts.

Steven received his first senior debut at age 17 in a League Cup victory at Wycombe when Ryan started a League Cup win at Leyton Orient in 2016 at the age of 16 in a team that included 35-year-old Scott Parker.

The Sessegnon family was very proud of themselves that evening at Adams Park on August 8, 2017.

Ryan, who had played alongside Mason Mount and Aaron Ramsdale for England in the European Under-19 Championship three weeks prior, came on as a late substitute after Steven had already played the full match.

When I made my senior debut, Steven recalls that Ryan had already spent a year or so in the first team. It inspired me to see how well he was doing.

Steven had won the World Cup Under-17s title by the end of 2017 after leading Steve Cooper’s England team, which also included Chelsea defender Marc Guehi and Manchester City’s Phil Foden.

Ryan left Tottenham in 2019 as a teenager, and he later began playing in the Champions League.

Before joining Wigan in August 2023, Steven made 19 first team appearances for Fulham, the majority of which were Championship.

The twins will face off against one another in a competitive match on Saturday despite having grown up together in Fulham’s academy.

Due to a knee injury, Steven hasn’t played since January 4th. After returning from training, he will be recalled to Shaun Maloney’s Wigan squad.

Steven says it will be a “once-in-a-lifetime” moment if he does get to play against his twin.

However, he has decided against swapping shirts with Ryan at the tie’s conclusion, which must be decided the day after replays from the first round were eliminated.

He says, “I could just call him and have one sent over,” if I wanted one.

“Exchange shirts? I don’t think that’s going to happen”.

Steven admits he misses his twin after spending so much of their youth playing football, and there are more than 200 miles of road between Wigan and Fulham.

“We know one another inside out”, he says.

“We speak a lot on the phone. He’s got a one-year-old daughter and I love being on the phone with her and him”.

Following his recent injury, Wigan boss Maloney said he would weigh his options before making a decision to play Steven.

When the Posh lost to Everton in the third round, Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson received criticism from some fans in January for denying Tyler Young, 18, a chance to play against his father, Ashley.

“We are not a charity case”, Ferguson, son of former Manchester United boss Sir Alex, said afterwards.

Maloney, part of the Wigan team that beat Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup final, said: “I want to win.

For those two, Steven and Ryan, I am aware of the significance of this game. Sess is a brilliant player who has put in a lot of effort to improve his fitness for this game.