Gianluca Vialli was among the final generation of footballers who could straddle the line between superstardom and living a normal life.
When the Italian goalscorer, who passed away this morning aged 58 after first being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017, arrived at Chelsea in 1996 the Premier League was beginning to become an international brand.
The amount of talent coming from abroad was increasing every season and Vialli’s arrival at a mediocre Chelsea was a signpost towards what English football’s top tier would become.
