(Reuters) – Wrexham’s Hollywood owners have secured the A-list signing of former Manchester United and England goalkeeper Ben Foster until the end of the season, the fifth-tier club said on Thursday.
Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur are reported to have tried unsuccessfully to lure the 39-year-old Foster out of retirement following an injury to first-choice Hugo Lloris.
But Wrexham have pulled off a significant signing as they aim to secure their place back in the English Football League.
The North Wales club have been on the rise since being bought by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
“I’m over the moon,” Foster, who played for Wrexham 18 years ago, told the club’s website. “I’ve been at the club an hour this morning and it seems a really nice place. Everyone is down to earth and the manager (Phil Parkinson) is top class.
“Its changed a lot since I was last here, but it’s nice to be back and it’s nice to be back as a player too. It will be interesting to see how my body feels after training today! I’m looking forward to getting started.”
Foster was on loan at Wrexham from Stoke City in 2005 and shortly afterwards signed for Manchester United.
“If you’d told me 18 years ago that I’d have gone on to have the career that I have had, I probably wouldn’t have believed you to be honest so I do owe a lot to Wrexham,” Foster, who was capped eight times for England, said.
The club are top of the National League with 94 points, three points more than Notts County and with a game in hand. Only one team earns automatic promotion to League Two.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
