Watford supporters have been pretty downbeat in recent times after seeing their side suffer a fifth Premier League defeat of the season at the weekend.
Javi Gracia’s men went into their clash with unbeaten Liverpool off the back of drawing 1-1 with Southampton in their previous league encounter, yet having won their previous home match against Huddersfield Town at the end of October. Yet the Hornets are now three without a win in the league after going down 3-0 at home to Jurgen Klopp’s side, with goals from Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Roberto Firmino sealing a comfortable success for the Merseyside giants.
Thus, there have been many disappointed Watford fans up and down the country in recent times, although plenty are looking back on the season so far very fondly indeed, with several of the club’s new signings performing well.
And one man who can definitely be put into that category is goalkeeper Ben Foster, who Gracia lured back to Vicarage Road for just £2.52 million (as per Transfermarkt) during the summer – a figure which is looking more and more like a steal with every passing day.
Ultimately, the Englishman always looked likely to leave West Brom during the summer following their relegation to the Championship, with his move to Watford eventually bringing to an end a seven-year stay at the Hawthorns, during which he forced his way back into the England reckoning.
Yet the 35-year-old returned to Hertfordshire during the close season after enjoying a loan spell with the Hornets between 2005 and 2007, in which time he helped them win promotion from the second tier in his first season to underline the big impact he had at Vicarage Road.
And he is again producing the goods this term with starts in all 13 of their Premier League games so far, in which time Foster has kept three clean sheets and shipped just 17 goals – only eight teams have conceded fewer in the top-flight so far.
And what the statistics don’t say is just how important the 35-year-old has been in making key saves and contributions at key times for the Hornets this season, with the shot-stopper particularly impressive in victories over Wolves and Huddersfield last month to further emphasise just what a great signing he is turning out to be.
And for just £2.52 million, it’s looking more and more like a steal from Gracia and the club’s hierarchy – there’s little doubting that Watford have pulled off a masterstroke bringing the Englishman back to Vicarage Road.
Watford fans… what do you think? Let us know!
