Million-pound man Trevor Francis was teen prodigy ‘who could do everything’
He was the teen prodigy whose transfer defined a footballing era.
Not only was Trevor Francis Britain’s first £1m player, but it was Nottingham Forest – a provincial club punching above its weight under Brian Clough – setting the domestic transfer record in 1979.
And Francis was the added spark that helped the then-English champions conquer the continent within months of the milestone recruitment, with Francis heading in the winning goal in the European Cup final.
The striking sensation was more than a record breaker – with pioneering stints in the US and Italy before leading Sheffield Wednesday to the Premier League era as player-manager.
But long before then, he was making his debut at 16 for Birmingham City in 1970. A record only surpassed by Jude Bellingham in 2019 – joining Francis as a Birmingham legend.
Bellingham’s recent near £90m transfer to Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund underscored the stratospheric progression of transfer fees since Francis’s landmark £1m fee.
Now we’re in the era of £100m-plus British transfers with Declan Rice’s switch across London from West Ham to Arsenal in this summer transfer window.
And Kylian Mbappe is a world-record £259m target for Saudi club Al Hilal.
But Francis will always have his place in football’s transfer history.
“He was known as the £1m man and it was a landmark, it seems silly now,” former Forest teammate Peter Shilton told Sky News.
“Trevor was up there with the great players and… his ability was incredible at times.
“He had pace. He could dribble with the ball. He could do everything really and he was known for scoring some great solo goals.”