On this day – February 9th

First £1,000,000 football transfer fee

These days transfer fees can hit tens of millions of pounds, and a mere million will probably only get you a one-footed hacker. But in February 1979 that sum brought a truly exceptional talent to Nottingham Forest – Trevor Francis.

Francis had made his debut for Birmingham when just 16, and was already talked of seriously as an England player when he was 17. Though he was rather slight for a centre forward in those days Francis had bags of skill, a powerful shot, and real tactical intelligence that saw him later become a manager of some standing.

Francis had already spent eight years with unfashionable Birmingham, adding to his experience by jetting off to play in the USA for the Detroit Express in the summer of 1978, where he was a huge hit.

With Forest Francis made a rapid hit too, allowed to play at the semi-final stage of the European Cup, and then in the final against Malmo in May 1979, held in Munich, scoring the only goal. Uncharacteristically this was a header, though his run was one that few other players would have been capable of, and fewer still would have thought of making when he saw John Robertson preparing to cross the ball from wide on the left.

Francis amassed 52 England caps, and the thought remains that used properly by club and country he could have done so much more – his record in the USA where he was played in his favourite role as a striker was better than Pele's in terms of goal-scoring, and Fabio Capello, no mean judge, rated him the best English import to Serie A.

Today's question – which club manager signed Francis in February 1979?

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