On the last day of June 2016, a number of professional football contracts expired. Some players signed deals with clubs having already made arrangements with their new employers a while ago. Some players were suddenly a statistic and joined the countless others looking for new and gainful employment.

Hal Robson-Kanu is one of the latter.

On the first day of July, the European transfer window was flung wide open as Spain, Italy and Germany joined in the fun and games. Players could look across the continent to seek out new opportunities. Those still involved in Euro 2016 remained in the biggest shop window of them all - an international tournament.

Hal Robson-Kanu is one of the latter.

On the evening of that first day of July, Robson-Kanu achieved more in three seconds than the entire England squad achieved in 360 minutes. He may also have attracted the attention one or two managers who are in need of a man to lead their front line next season.

When he received the ball with his back to goal and a team mate to what was then his right, his manager, the fans and the Belgian defence all must have had one thought - pass it and there's a shooting opportunity.

What exactly made the former Reading front man attempt a Cruyff turn at that point in that match - only a European Championship quarter-final after all - is anyone's guess. But when three opposition players all headed off in the other direction, the 27-year-old London-born forward - who could only switch senior international allegiance to Wales as a result of his grandmother - found himself ten yards out with only Chelsea shot stopper Thibaut Courtois to beat.

This he did with aplomb.

It was a wonderful moment of football theatre.  It was exactly the type of thing that keeps people watching and playing the beautiful game. It was also one hell of a goal to score in such an important match.

No-one is going to go overboard at the moment and start saying that Robson-Kanu will be playing Champions League football next season after some as-of-yet undisclosed club sign him on £75,000-a-week. He may be happy playing Championship football on £7,500-a-week - many people would be!

But whether the man who wrote his name into Welsh footballing folklore on Friday night spends the 2016/17 season playing for Inter Milan or the club formerly known as Inter Cardiff, he may never quite reach the heights he took himself and his country against Belgium in Lille.

One thing is for certain though - after THAT goal, he will never have to reach in his pocket to pay for a drink in Cardiff Bay ever again.

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