Could your old football shirt be worth a fortune? Vintage kits - including England and Manchester United jerseys - are selling for up to £1800 online

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A summer of sport is in full swing, England are hoping to bring football home at the Euros, the best tennis players in the world have descended on Wimbledon and Team GB are prepping for Paris.

So it's perhaps no wonder that the nation are wearing more football shirt and sporting merchandise more than ever. 

But this season's strip won't do for many fashionistas, who  are instead spending hundreds - and in some cases thousands - on vintage football shirts.

eBay has revealed a 40 per cent increase in searches for 'vintage football shirts' on the marketplace.

The football jersey is the latest athleisure trend on the block as stars including Emma Raducanu have been seen sporting a jersey when arriving at Wimbledon this week. 

With fans eager to support their home team and the nation also looking to get in on the action, eBay has seen searches for 'football shirt' rise by over 15 per cent in the lead up to the tournament.

The 1990 Napoli shirt is selling for £700, Pictured Antonio Careca of SSC Napoli in action during the Seria A Italy in 1990

Another shirt selling for £500 is the Soviet Union 1989 strip. Cuneyt of Turkey (left) and Oleg Protasov of the USSR in action during a World Cup qualifying match in Istanbul

The most valuable vintage football shirt on the market is Nike’s Manchester United's 2006-2008 Away strip, according to Creditfix - with one selling for £1,851.

Elsewhere, a 1977/79 season Home shirt for Liverpool  sold for £1500, while Tottenham 1994/ 95 season away shirt was snapped up for £872.

Kirsty Keoghan, Global GM of Fashion, eBay said: 'The support for the Euros has seen retro football style shirts soar in popularity as people shop for their England fit to show their support. Whether it's a shirt worn by the Lionesses, the latest style for the Euro's, or a vintage 1998 Umbro retro version, eBay offers the most in demand pre-loved finds - for a fraction of the price!'

Maxine McCreadie, personal finance expert at UK Debt Expert, said:

'As Europe becomes abuzz for another summer of football mania, there's no better time to turn your vintage shirts into cash and score big on the nostalgia wave of games and tournaments from yesteryear.

'As fans across the continent relive classic moments and celebrate their favourite teams, t-shirts not only hold sentimental value, but provide an opportunity to make some extra cash. Some fans may even mark history while wearing history, as both Scotland and England vie to win the tournament for the first time.

A Manchester United - Away Strip from 2007 recently sold for £1800. Ronaldo is pictured wearing it in 2007

'To turn your wardrobe into a financial goal, make sure that you check similar items recently sold online for an idea of how much you could be sitting on, and mention explicitly any unique aspects of the shirt, such as player signatures, special edition details, or specific historical significance.

'Whether you're looking to try and make a little extra money or simply intrigued by the potential value of your old football shirts, it could be worth checking their value online.

Shirts from the 1990s and 2000s - deemed 'retro' - are now potentially worth hundreds of pounds.

Classic Football Shirts, based in Manchester, saw an increased demand for its stock in the build-up to the Euros.

They previously told This Is Money that sales of classic international stock are five times higher in June than they were in April. The biggest selling teams have been England, Germany and Scotland, followed by Italy and France.

Tomas Jones, director of Vintage Football Shirts said England shirts are 'always popular in the run up to a tournament' but there has been a sharp increase in sales for original vintage shirts, especially from the 1990s and 2000s.

The England 1990-92 third shirt, on sale for between £350 and £450, wasn't ever worn at the 1990 World Cup but achieved legendary status through the 'World in Motion' song, featuring the John Barnes rap

The World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000 home shirts are the most popular at the moment.

'The main issue for us is sourcing enough England shirts to handle the demand which is always challenging,' he said.

'We've managed to source a lot of original shirts from 2002 and 2004 so I expect these to be popular sellers as the tournament gets underway - as long as England win a few games.'

Some England shirts sold on Vintage Football Shirts go for as much as £300-£450.

The England 1990-92 third shirt, on sale for between £350 and £450, wasn't ever worn at the 1990 World Cup but achieved legendary status through the 'World in Motion' song, featuring the John Barnes rap.

The England 1987-90 third shirt is going for a similar price, largely because of how rare it is, having never been used by England in a competitive or friendly game.

Netherlands 1988 shirt is also a big money maker, selling for £900.  Dutch footballer Marco van Basten with the trophy after the UEFA Euro 1988 final between the Soviet Union and the Netherlands

'We did see the shirt in the official England photoshoots so we know it was the official third shirt despite the lack of game time,' says Jones. 'This rarity makes it very valuable and a difficult shirt to pick up.'

Another England third shirt, this time the 1992-93 kit which features three large lions running across the front, is worth between £300 and £400.

Jones said: 'The shirt was only worn in two Friendlies against Spain and Czechoslovakia, proving that you don't have to win anything in a shirt for it to become valuable.'

Replicas of vintage shirts can often go for a few hundred pounds, but adding a big name like Gazza can push the price even higher.

The 1987-90 Third shirt is rare and has never been worn in a competitive or friendly game

The England 1996-97 away shirt Gaiscogne #8 goes for between £300-350 and is one of the most valuable England replica shirts out there.

Jones said: 'The most iconic of the Euro 96 shirts, although losing out to Germany in the semi-final wearing the design, is the grey away kit in which Gascoigne went within a studs width of putting England in the final and ultimately lost to Germany on penalties again.'