Birmingham make Foster available for Premier League return for £1m
Published:Birmingham’s problematic financial position means that they have put together an attractive offer for Premier League clubs interested in Ben Foster.
After losing Dorus De Vries to Wolves, newly-promoted Swansea are in the hunt for a new number one, while Roy Hodgson may also be interested in taking Foster to West Brom as he looks to replace Scott Carson.
Foster was one of Birmingham’s star players last season as the lifted the Carling Cup, but the quality of his performances between the sticks failed to secure their survival in the Premier League.
Therefore, the England goalkeeper would certainly prove an asset for either club to help with their respective agendas, with Swansea 5/4 in the Premier League odds to survive their first season and West Brom 4/1 to break into the top ten.
With Birmingham optimistic of making an immediate return to the Premier League, they are hoping to allow Foster to leave on loan for a season.
Primarily to get his salary off their books, Birmingham will allow Foster to leave on loan for a year for £1m, with the option of buying him for £4m next summer if they fail to secure promotion back to the top flight.
The news is unlikely to be taken well by new Birmingham manager Chris Hughton, who has already had to sell Roger Johnson, Craig Gardner and Barry Ferguson, while Sebastian Larsson, Kevin Phillips and Lee Bowyer have all left on free transfers.
The majority of these players formed the spine of the Birmingham team last season and if they were to loan out Foster aswell, this would leave Hughton facing a difficult task to win promotion back to the Premier League.
It is 7/2 that Birmingham seal promotion either automatically or via the play-offs this season and 12/1 that they win the Championship, which would represent the second time that Hughton has achieved this feat in three seasons.
