Sheffield Wednesday icon ‘taken aback’ by shock death of ‘genuine gentleman’ Trevor Francis

Francis’ shock death at the age of just 69 was confirmed on Monday, with Wednesday leading tributes alongside the likes of former Owls defender Viv Anderson.

Britain’s first £1m player and a two-time European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest, the 52-cap England legend ended his playing career at Hillsborough having been signed as a veteran by Ron Atkinson in 1990.

He would go on to win the League Cup with the Owls in 1991, winning promotion from the second tier the same season before taking over as player-manager. He’d take Wednesday to Europe and to two domestic cup finals in the same 1992/92 campaign.

Palmer both played alongside Francis and under his management and expressed sadness at news of his passing.

“I’m absolutely devastated,” Palmer told TalkSport. “He’d had his issues but kept himself fit and I’m really shocked.

“Trevor and I got on really well in our time at the club. We had a bit of a falling out when I went to Leeds United, but Trevor was new to management at that point. He tried to re-sign me when he took over at Birmingham.

“He was such a nice bloke and it’s such sad news. And what a player. Even at Sheffield Wednesday when Ron Atkinson brought him in, at his age he was class, absolutely class.

The football world has offered tributes in memory of Francis, who was known as one of the gentlemen of the game in a career that also spanned a hugely successful time in broadcasting.

A trailblazing player who Fabio Capello famously regarded as the best-ever English player to grace Italy’s Serie A, he counted Birmingham City, Rangers, Sampdoria, Atalanta, Manchester City and QPR among his other clubs. He had managerial success with Birmingham City and Crystal Palace after leaving Hillsborough.

Palmer continued: “As a person, they don’t come along like that very often. Trevor was a family man, he loved his kids and he loved his Helen. He was a genuine gentleman. I’m really taken aback by this.

“When he came in, he was odler but he’d come on and you could see his ability. He was quick, he could ride a challenge, he knew what he had to do in the final third. He’d talk about what we needed to do to hurt the opposition, he’d talk like that time and time again.

“And he knew what he had to do in that final third, getting to the by-line, getting crosses in, getting to the back post.

“Trevor could go inside or outside. He was blessed with so much ability. It’s a sad day.”