--- title: "Profit Players: Ben Foster represented £4m very well spent by West Brom" canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/profit-players-ben-foster-west-brom-4m/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Liam Togher" section: "Features" published: "2020-05-24T15:00:15Z" modified: "2020-05-24T15:00:15Z" --- # Profit Players: Ben Foster represented £4m very well spent by West Brom **This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.** Birmingham may have been relegated in 2011 but Ben Foster, their [Player of the Season](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/birmingham-city/8519916/Birmingham-City-goalkeepers-Ben-Foster-and-Colin-Doyle-accused-of-late-night-drinking-after-awards-ceremony.html) from that campaign, stayed in the Premier League after he made the short hop to West Brom [on loan](https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14311963.stm) that summer. If some Baggies fans had reservations about signing a player from a neighbouring club who had just been relegated, it would have been rather understandable. The goalkeeper soon set about quelling any possible naysayers, though, keeping [10 clean sheets](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/13572) in the 2011/12 season for Albion and being named the [supporters’ Player of the Year](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18648707). His stellar performances helped West Brom to finish in the [top half of the Premier League](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/west-bromwich-albion/platzierungen/verein/984) and convinced the club to make his loan move permanent in a [£4m deal](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/west-bromwich-albion/9365056/West-Bromwich-Albion-sign-Birmingham-City-goalkeeper-Ben-Foster-for-4m-a-permanent-deal.html). Foster played a further [30 league games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/13572) in 2012/13 and did his bit to inspire the Baggies to an eighth-placed finish, which remains their [best in the Premier League](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/west-bromwich-albion/platzierungen/verein/984). Among his highlights that season was a penalty save from Steven Gerrard at Anfield to prevent Liverpool from opening the scoring on a night when [West Brom won 2-0](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/21318809) – no doubt the ‘keeper relished that one as an [ex-Manchester United player](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/transfers/spieler/13572). Despite [missing almost half of the following season](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/verletzungen/spieler/13572) through injury, Foster earned a place in England’s 2014 World Cup squad, the first West Brom player to do so [since Jeff Astle 44 years previously](https://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/foster-delighted-to-be-off-to-brazil-1547682.aspx), and featured in [one game](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/24/costa-rica-england-world-cup-group-d-match-report) at the finals in Brazil. He returned from the tournament to enjoy what was perhaps his best season at The Hawthorns – only [34 goals conceded in 30 games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/13572) (1.13 per game) and [14 clean sheets](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/13572) (46.67% of games). Unfortunately, a [cruciate ligament injury](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/verletzungen/spieler/13572) kept him out for the vast majority of 2015, but he returned to feature in [15 league games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/13572) in the 2015/16 season and he was beaten just [17 times](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/13572) in that run. Foster was [ever-present](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/13572) for Albion in the 2016/17 Premier League and again won the [supporters’ Player of the Season](https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/west-bromwich-albion/2017/05/08/ben-foster-named-west-brom-supporters-club-player-of-the-season/) prize, in addition to being nominated for the [Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year](https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/west-bromwich-albion/2017/05/08/ben-foster-voted-for-football-writers-association-footballer-of-the-year/) award – a fine achievement for a goalkeeper at a [mid-table club](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/west-bromwich-albion/platzierungen/verein/984). Despite the Baggies finishing bottom of the table the following season and suffering relegation, he still racked up [double figures in terms of clean sheets](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/13572). \[freshpress-poll id=”299397″\] Just as Birmingham’s relegation seven years previously prompted Foster to switch clubs, Albion’s [top-flight demise in 2018](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44046183) also saw him on the move to remain a Premier League player as he joined Watford for a cut-price [£2.52m](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/transfers/spieler/13572). It was an indication of how sturdy a presence he was between the sticks for West Brom that, in the first season after his departure, they conceded [62 league goals](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/west-bromwich-albion/platzierungen/verein/984) – more than in [any of his seven campaigns at The Hawthorns](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-foster/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/13572), a telling statistic even considering the greater number of fixtures in the Championship. Unsurprisingly, [numerous Albion fans were sickened](https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/west-bromwich-albion-ben-foster-14872575) when he left the club two years ago and, as recently as this week, [some of the Baggies faithful](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/championship/west-brom/west-brom-fans-divided-sam-johnstone-premier-league/) said they would take him back in preference to current number one Sam Johnstone. Having cost the club just £4m but done so much to stretch their uninterrupted run in the Premier League to [eight seasons](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/west-bromwich-albion/platzierungen/verein/984), Foster can rightly be regarded as one of the best pieces of transfer business in West Brom’s recent history. ***West Brom fans, just how good a player was Foster in his time at The Hawthorns? Comment below with your views!***