On this day: John Charles makes unprecedented foreign move

Over the years, British footballers have moved to foreign clubs with varying degrees of success.

The most notable switch of course was the one that took Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 for a world-record fee of £85m.

Yet, some 58 years earlier and on this day, there was another Welsh player that was making the headlines as he traded clubs.

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Having arrived at Leeds United as a 17-year-old, John Charles went on to score more than 150 goals for the Yorkshire outfit over a period of eight seasons.

However, that record eventually resulted in Leeds losing the services of their star centre-forward, who became the first British player to join an overseas club. The Whites were well compensated by Charles's new club Juventus, with a British-record £65,000 fee changing hands.

The Welshman would seemingly need no time to settle into his new life in Turin as he scored the winning goal on his debut against Hellas Verona and then also weighed in with decisive goals in Juve's next two outings.

It was the start of a successful period for the man dubbed 'The Gentle Giant' by the fans and media alike. Overall, Charles won the Serie A title on three occasions and Coppa Italia twice - all this for a club that had been languishing near the bottom of the table prior to his arrival.

On the club's official website, Juve say of Charles: "For anyone who saw Charles play in the late 1950s and early 1960s when he was at his peak, the Welshman was the stuff of legends.

"There is a famous photo of him scoring yet another header and the goalkeeper is clinging on to him while two defenders try in vain to stop him. Another picture shows the dreadnought striker leaping above Vieri in a derby match and even at full stretch, the Torino keeper is nowhere near him.

"John Charles was more than the proverbial battering ram. He was blessed with the ability to hang in the air and, as if suspended in motion, he would use his momentary advantage to decide whether to head for goal or lay the ball off for a colleague to apply the coup de grace. His unselfish play won him many admirers."

After a five-season period with the Old Lady, for whom he had scored 93 goals in 155 appearances, Charles headed back for Elland Road, but his second spell with Leeds was ultimately a disappointment as he struggled to live up to his performances of yesteryear.

Stints with Roma and Cardiff City followed, but he was never able to truly reignite his best form prior to his retirement in 1966.