Jimmy Greaves: Former England striker, World-Cup winner dies aged 81

Former England striker Jimmy Greaves has died in early hours of this morning, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur reported. He was 81.

He leaves behind wife Irene, four children Lynn, Mitzi, Danny and Andrew along with 10 grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Born in Newham, Jimmy started his career with Chelsea and scored a then club record 124 league goals for the London club between 1957 and 1961.

He made his name at Chelsea, scoring 132 goals for the club in 169 matches prior to moving to Serie A side Milan for a brief spell, but it was at Tottenham where he made his greatest impact.

He played for Tottenham from 1961-70, netting 266 goals in 379 appearances -- a record that still stands. The Legend was also a part of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad and scored 44 goals in 57 internationals.

He scored 269 goals in 379 games for Tottenham and holds the record for the most goals in a season for Spurs with 37 in 1962-63.

Greaves was widely recognised as being one of the most naturally-gifted goalscorers of his generation.

Greaves played his final game for England in May 1967 and remains the country’s fourth all-time record scorer, behind Gary Lineker, Sir Bobby Charlton and Wayne Rooney.

Then in May 2015, Greaves suffered a severe stroke that left him in a wheelchair and he revealed the following February that doctors had told him he would never be able to walk again.

During his career at Tottenham, he also won the FA Cup twice during the 1960s and helped Spurs to the European Cup Winners' Cup in the 1962-63 season.

A Tottenham statement read, "We are extremely saddened to learn of the passing of the great Jimmy Greaves, not just Tottenham Hotspur's record goalscorer but the finest marksman this country has ever seen.