• Former West Ham and Tottenham player won 67 England caps • Midfielder Peters was said to be ‘10 years ahead of his time’

Martin Peters, a member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team, has died aged 76. The midfielder scored against West Germany in that final at Wembley and won 67 caps.

Peters played most notably for West Ham United and Tottenham, although he also had a successful spell at Norwich City before finishing his professional career with Sheffield United. He made almost 900 appearances before retiring in 1981. In 2016 it was announced that he had Alzheimer’s disease.

In Martin Peters, football has lost an all-time great unchanged by glory Read more

A statement from members of Peters’ family on West Ham’s official website read: “It is with profound sadness that we announce that Martin passed away peacefully in his sleep at 4am this morning. A beloved husband, dad and grandad, and a kind, gentle and private man, we are devastated by his loss but so very proud of all that he achieved and comforted by the many happy memories we shared. We will be making no further comment and kindly ask that the privacy of our family is respected at this extremely difficult time.”

Described by his England manager, Alf Ramsey, as being “10 years ahead of his time,” the East London-born Peters came through the ranks at West Ham. He made his debut in 1962 and won the European Cup Winners’ Cup with the club before moving to Tottenham in 1970 for a then British record fee of £200,000. Jimmy Greaves went in the other direction as part of the deal.

Further trophies followed at Spurs, with Peters winning the League Cup twice and then the Uefa Cup in an all-English final against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1972.

His England career stretched across eight years. He broke into the team in the months leading up to the 1966 World Cup and impressed sufficiently to secure a place in the squad for the finals. After being omitted for the opening group game, against Uruguay, he came into the starting XI for the following match and kept his place.

Peters put England 2-1 ahead in the final, a feat overshadowed by his West Ham club-mate Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick. Known as “The Ghost” for his ability to get unnoticed into scoring positions, Peters ended with 20 goals for his country. He played at the 1970 World Cup, where England lost 3-2 to West Germany in the quarter-finals, having gone 2-0 up thanks to a Peters goal, after Bobby Charlton and then Peters were taken off by Ramsey.

His final cap came in May 1974. Peters had captained the England side that drew with Poland and failed to qualify for that year’s World Cup.

Peters briefly and unsuccessfully managed Sheffield United in 1981 and later played non-league football before taking a job in the insurance business, in which he worked for 17 years before being made redundant.

He spent time on the board at Tottenham and worked in the hospitality suites there and at West Ham.