West Brom are not planning to offer a contract to goalkeeper Ben Foster, a report from The Birmingham Mail has revealed. Foster enjoyed a successful seven-year spell with the Baggies between 2011 and 2019, during which time he made 223 appearances in all competitions for the club. The goalkeeper then left to join Watford, and is now a free agent after leaving Vicarage Road following the expiry of his contract at the end of last season, when the Hornets were relegated from the Premier League.

It has subsequently been revealed that Foster is now back training with West Brom, as he maintains his fitness as he looks for a new club. Now though, it seems unlikely that the goalkeeper’s search for a new club, will lead to a second spell on the books at The Hawthorn. According to this latest update, West Brom do not currently have any plans to hold talks with the Foster about a new contract, despite calls from some fans for the 39-year-old to be handed a new deal by the club.

Instead, it is thought that manager Steve Bruce is happy with his two current goalkeeping options, David Button and Alex Palmer, competing to be the club’s number one in the coming campaign. West Brom have so far made three senior signings during the summer transfer window, with midfielders Jaydon Molumby, John Swift and Jed Wallace all completing permanent moves to The Hawthorns.
This may well be a sensible stance for West Brom to take over a possible deal for Foster. The Baggies do have two useful options between the posts with David Button and Alex Palmer, so this is not a position they are under pressure to strengthen this summer. As a result, you feel there are other deals that the Baggies may need to priotise right now, and keeping the wage budget clear for those deals may mean this is not worth pursuing at this moment in time.