Former Premier League star Ben Foster has rejoined National League side Wrexham, 18 years on from his first stint with the club. Whilst discussing his move on his podcast, The Fozcast he claimed he has joined the club for “Literally Peanuts”, a claim backed up by the owner of the club Ryan Reynolds.
Ben started by saying “I don’t need much (money)” & “the negotiations took about five minutes” before going on to say.
“Wage-wise, it’s literally peanuts, the part for me is getting the team over the line and getting them promoted. I’m a very low-maintenance player, just wheel me out and I’ll do a job”
Foster’s actions before the move, seem to also support his claim he hasn’t joined for money, with it being widely reported that he had offers from Premier League clubs to come out of retirement earlier in the year which he turned down including Newcastle United.
https://twitter.com/talkSPORT/status/1639317401539088386?t=2OgrqlGy3LPifn2GMbAWAQ&s=19
Ben announced his retirement from professional football when Watford were regelated from the Premier League last season, many thought that was the last we’d see of the Cycling GK especially after turning down the chance to play in the Premier League again.
Ben goes onto to say, he feels he owes a lot to Wrexham, it appears helping the club get their Football League status is something Ben feels he owes to the club, after everything they did for him all those years ago.
“It’s seeing Wrexham, back in the Football League is the best bit for me, because I’ve got some good memories there and I do owe a lot to Wrexham, honestly I really do”
“Like you said at the beginning it was the catalyst for my career, it was the springboard, the was the opportunity I got to go out and play first team football, proper first team football and showcase what my abilities were and that’s it I’ve never looked back since”
Ben certainly seems keen to make it clear that this move and his return back to football aren’t for money, and it’s simply to repay a debt as such to Wrexham who he feels gave him his first proper opportunity in football.
Although, he has confirmed it is only a short-term deal, that’s not to say he won’t stay on after the end of his deal.
“It’s only a short-term deal isn’t it, like six weeks or something”
Ryan Reynolds retweeted a quote from Ben discussing the wage being “litterally peanuts” seemingly giving his support to the claim. 
What an unbelievable coup this is by high-flying Wrexham, who already sit top of the National League and are most people’s pick to win the league this season, this deal will only further that position of strength for the Welsh side.
Writers View
What a deal this is for Wrexham, I thought we had seen the last of the Cycling GK, at the end of last season when he retired following Watford’s relegation, especially after he turned down the chance to play in the Premier League again.
I’ll be honest, at the time that he retired I did think it was a shock, as I felt that he still had a couple more years to give, but as the old saying goes no one knows your body better than you.
I’m delighted to see Ben come back into football and fingers crossed this could mean, a return of the Match-Day Vlogs over on Bens’s YouTube.
I’ll be keeping a keen eye on how he gets on in Wales and hope that he continues on past his current short-term deal.
