All at Chelsea send our condolences to his family and friends. Roy was 93.

He spent eight years at Stamford Bridge after signing in January 1948, finishing top scorer in seven consecutive seasons and amassing 150 goals from 367 appearances, the joint-fifth highest goals total in Chelsea’s history. He was appointed captain by manager Billy Birrell in 1951, and inspired the side to glory with his mobile displays four years later.

After going on to represent our neighbours Fulham and Queens Park Rangers, Roy also managed Reading and Swansea, and became a frequent visitor to Stamford Bridge in his later years.

Born in Bristol on May 17, 1924, Roy Thomas Frank Bentley was one of eight children and excelled across a range of sports including long jump, athletics and boxing, but it was football that dominated his attentions, and he was signed onto the groundstaff by local club Bristol Rovers as a 14-year-old, before quickly switching to neighbours Bristol City a year later due to financial problems at Rovers.

Bentley made his debut at 15, scoring away at Walsall before the outbreak of World War II brought competitive football to a halt. He regularly took part in wartime games before departing to serve in the Navy in late 1942, but even then he spent time playing the game in Canada during his tours of duty.

The bustling, powerful forward transferred north to Newcastle upon the resumption of peacetime, where he developed a roaming style that involved him dropping deeper than traditional strikers to link up play. Two goals on his debut suggested good times ahead but bouts of ill health and a struggle to adapt to life up north meant Bentley was soon seeking a move back south.