A rare collection of items belonging to football legend Duncan Edwards will display proudly at the town’s new museum after months of talks with Manchester United.

The collection, which was loaned to the council for a number of years, was sold by the Edwards family to Manchester United earlier this year.

The move cast doubt over the future of the exhibition, which includes shirts and programmes from when Duncan played. But the council stepped in to begin negotiations with United to ask the club to loan the collection back to the authority and keep it in the borough.

The club agreed to loan shirts and caps from the football legend’s international duty with England. They will also be on display at the new museum when it opens at the Archives centre in Dudley on September 30. Councillor Ian Kettle, cabinet member responsible for tourism, said:

“This collection is extremely important to this borough – it tells the story of not only a local footballing hero, but one of the greatest players this country has ever produced.

“We are extremely grateful to the new owners, Manchester United, for recognising that this collection belongs in Duncan’s home town and we will continue celebrating his name for generations to come.”

The collections which were based at the old museum in St James Road, have been packed and moved to their new home at the Archives building. The new museum will open on September 30th.