Birmingham City deal proved a West Brom dream come true | OneFootball

West Brom's former Birmingham City keeper became a mainstay in the side and a club legend.

When West Bromwich Albion were a perennial presence at the pinnacle of the English game, the squad consistently underwent spells of sincere change, but one mainstay was indispensable to the side's success.

The goalkeeping position has unusually been a predominantly fixed spot within the West Brom squad.

Since 2008, The Hawthorns has seen only four goalkeepers lay serious claim to the number one spot, with all four registering over 100 appearances in the blue and white stripes.

However, as Alex Palmer, the latest to join the 100-game club, departed in a deadline day deal to Ipswich Town, the time has come again for a changing of the gloves.

Albion academy product, Josh Griffiths is the next shot-stopper seeking to establish himself as the long-term pick in between the sticks, but as the Baggies cling onto that elusive play-off place, a confident transition will be vital in sustaining their foothold in the top-six chase and going one further, returning to the to tier of the English pyramid.

In a position where there is nowhere to hide and pressure in every minute of the match, Griffiths would do well to remember a West Brom number one who exuded calm and confidence every time he put on the gloves, becoming a Baggies' fans' favourite and indispensable to the sides' successive stay in the Premier League.

That player was Ben Foster.

As West Brom sought Premier League survival they secured silverware hero

The summer of 2011 was a tempestuous window in the history of West Bromwich Albion.

Baggies were still riding high from their 11th-place finish in their first season back in the Premier League, but the loss of celebrated servant, Scott Carson who made 118 appearances for the blue and white stripes was cause for concern.

Albion had only once managed to survive for a successive season in the top flight, that being the 2004/05 campaign. However, normality was quickly resumed with West Brom's relegation the very next year.

But Baggies acted fast. The Black Country outlet made a deal with neighbours Birmingham City that saw Ben Foster make the short trip to West Brom on a temporary term, with substitute shot-stopper Boaz Myhill heading out of The Hawthorns the opposite way.

The England international had previously made headlines at the top end English football in 2009 when Man United took on Spurs in the Carling Cup final. With the match deadlocked past extra time, it was the second-choice goalie who became the hero of the hour for the Red Devils, saving Jamie O'Hara's penalty that saw United take home the silverware and was awarded man of the match for his efforts.

The shot-stopper then repeated the feat in 2011, this time in Birmingham City's Carling Cup clash versus Arsenal. In a performance that saw the goalie take home man of the match again at Wembley, Foster made a series of spectacular saves only allowing one of the Gunners' 11 efforts on target beyond him, again being the hero that saw the Blues steal the silverware.

Crafting a cinema reel of highlight-worthy saves, it didn't take long for fans to forget Foster was on the Blues books and become indispensable to the Baggies, seeing the side record their highest-ever Premier League finish in 10th on his maiden season.

The keeper's club-equalling record of 10 clean sheets in the top tier was vital in fueling Albion's ascent up the table, and Foster's form saw him awarded both Baggies supporter's player of the year and players' player of the year.

Baggies bought Ben Foster and never looked back

Identifying immediate ability in Foster's protection of the net, the club secured his services on a permanent basis the very next season, as West Brom boss Steve Clarke sought to sustain the side's top-half finish and saw Foster as his ideal pick in between the sticks.

Clarke told the BBC: "Ben's been a priority signing all summer. A quality keeper is worth 10 or 12 points a season and that's certainly what we think we've got."

Despite a spell on the sidelines with a groin injury, Foster still made 93 saves within his 30 appearances for the season, ranking seventh in the save charts and was again vital as Baggies bettered their aforementioned record-breaking finish to ascend to eighth.

Albion were only getting better, but after an August injury sent Foster for a 20-match spell on the sidelines, faces had changed in The Hawthorns hot-seat and it appeared their days scrapping amongst the division's danger zone had returned.

It took till the final day to secure the Black Country outlet's survival in the Premier League, but Foster's spirited 73 saves upon his return to the side did not go unnoticed, and he was awarded the ultimate prize.

Ben Foster would feature on the biggest stage and break more Baggies records

After another fine individual effort from the West Brom number one, Foster was selected to join England's 2014 World Cup campaign in Brazil as the backup keeper to Joe Hart.

Although Foster failed to feature until England's ultimate elimination from the group stages of the tournament, he deputised for Hart in the Three Lions' final fixture versus table-topping Costa Rica, earning plaudits for his performance and kept his clean sheet, something England had failed to do thus far.

Unfortunately, after the England international's return to the Black Country, his injury woes were soon to reignite when in March 2015, the shot-stopper suffered a cruciate ligament injury suspending him on the sidelines for 290 days, but not before Foster had already bettered his own Albion clean sheet record with 12, this time doing it in only 28 games.

For three further seasons, the Black Country outlet extended their sustained stay in the top tier and in the capable hands of taskmaster Tony Pulis, it appeared their fears of scrapping above the second tier were long gone, but in the 2017/18 campaign, those fears were re-founded.

The club removed Pulis from his position at the helm of the club after a slow start, but even a fully fit 37-game Foster could not save the sinking ship as it drifted down to the division's danger zone, and eventually returned to its place in the second-tier.

However, it became apparent very quickly that the Baggies' number one had no intention of returning to the Championship to fight for promotion, and refused to attend the club's pre-season camp amid interest from Watford and Man City.

It was The Hornets who succeeded in securing the shot-stopper's services, ending a seven-year stay at The Hawthorns where the number one is now a celebrated servant and remembered as one of the finest to wear the gloves at B71.