West Bromwich Albion go into this coming Good Friday's Championship clash brimming with confidence, having seen off Bristol City and Huddersfield Town with relative ease 2-0 and 4-1 before the international break kicked in.
Carlos Corberan's men look secure in their playoff spot in the division subsequently, sitting pretty in fifth spot with a sizeable eight-point gap opening up between the Baggies and their nearest playoff rival in Hull City in seventh, as a result of West Brom's recent positive form.
Alex Palmer has been a key cog in the Baggies machine this season in between the sticks to help his team dream big about promotion aspirations, keeping 16 clean sheets with the last of those coming in the rather routine Robins victory.
Yet, there's a hero from West Brom yesteryear who's idolised even more than Palmer when recollecting about dependable goalkeepers, having cost the West Midlands outfit just £4.5m back in 2012.
Ben Foster's transfer to West Brom
Ben Foster would leave Manchester United behind for pastures new initially at Birmingham City, never looking back after walking out of Sir Alex Ferguson's Theatre of Dreams.
It's not as if the revered manager didn't utilise Foster during his Red Devils days, amassing 23 appearances for the Man United first team over two seasons before moving on for more regular minutes first with the Blues and then further down the line with the Baggies.
After one season at St. Andrew's, Foster would pack his bags for nearby West Brom with the ex-Man United shot-stopper going down as an icon over time in his new surroundings.
That £4.5m fee forked out by the current Championship club – after his short stint at the Blues – would end up looking like an absolute bargain, with Foster becoming a celebrated servant for the Baggies who was a reliable goalkeeper over many years when the club were a solid Premier League side.
What Ben Foster would be worth in 2024 money
The 6 foot 4 goalkeeper would go on to make 223 appearances for West Brom over seven impactful seasons, becoming very much a part of the furniture at the West Midlands club by the time of his exit.
West Brom 0-2 Man United, August 2011
1. GK – Ben Foster
2. RB – Steven Reid
3. CB – Gabriel Tamas
4. CB – Jonas Olsson
5. LB – Nicky Shorey
6. RM – Chris Brunt
7. CM – Youssouf Mulumbu
8. CM – Paul Scharner
9. LM – James Morrison
10. ST – Somen Tchoyi
11. ST – Shane Long
Foster would end up keeping 57 clean sheets for the Baggies over these games, with his best personal season coming during the 2014-15 campaign where he would register 12 shut-outs from just 28 contests played.
That season would coincide with West Brom finishing 13th in the division with the likes of one-time hotshot Saido Berahino firing in 20 goals, Foster's team never really anxious about their top-flight status and sinking down to where Corberan now manages his Baggies troops in the second tier.
Foster would eventually endear himself to a new set of supporters in Watford, where he managed to break into the 200 game threshold also in Hertfordshire before a notable move to moneybags Wrexham AFC came to fruition, but West Brom fans will still view the eight-time England international as a Baggies icon first and foremost.
When looking at TotallyFootball's Transfer Index, which takes into account modern-day inflation involving past transfer deals, the £4.5m move is made to look even more of a masterstroke from those at the Hawthorns with his value – if that move took place today – coming in at £12m.
How Ben Foster's value compares to the West Brom squad
Using the Transfer Index, Foster would now be worth three times more than the Baggies most valuable asset currently in Jed Wallace when first joining the club – the ex-Millwall man coming in as being worth €4.1M (£3.5m) according to Football Transfers.
That's even with Wallace being as key as Palmer has been in patches for the promotion chasers this campaign so far, with the ageing midfielder helping himself to nine goals and assists across 35 appearances in all competitions.
1. Jed Wallace
€4.1m (£3.5m)
2. Okay Yokuslu
€3.5m (£2.99m)
3. Brandon Thomas-Asante
€3.4m (£2.91m)
4. Conor Townsend
€3.4m (£2.91m)
5. Darnell Furlong
€3.4m (£2.91m)
Scanning the table above, Foster would be way out in front as the most valuable player compared to the likes of Okay Yokuslu and Brandon Thomas-Asante who are all aiming as a collective to return back to the level the goalkeeper succeeded at with West Brom.
After Watford, Foster's career would end with a whimper rather than a notable rebirth with the ex-Baggies man hanging up his boots at the Red Dragons after leaking 13 goals in just four games playing in the lower depths of League Two.
Palmer will strive to be remembered in the same vain as Foster with the Baggies gunning for promotion up to the top-flight, the current West Brom number one of the first names on his manager's teamsheet by being an everpresent in every XI fielded in the league to date.
Now at 40 years of age, Foster is becoming known more as an internet personality than an excellent shot-stopper. But, to those with connections to the West Midlands club, the 6 foot 4 goalkeeper is very much still known for being a West Brom legend.
