Ben Foster opens up about nearly signing for Newcastle

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Wrexham goalkeeper Ben Foster has shared a text exchange with Nick Pope that shows just how close he was to signing for Newcastle United last year.

Newcastle were in a goalkeeper predicament in September, needing to dip into the free agent market due to an injury to Karl Darlow. It led to Lorius Karius joining the club, but it was very nearly Foster.

The Magpies tried to bring the former England international to St James’ Park, as he was a free agent following his departure from Watford.

However, Foster said no and decided to announce his retirement. He has now come out of retirement and is receiving a paycheque from Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to play in the National League.

The 40-year-old has now spoke to Newcastle stopper Nick Pope, and shared details on just how close he was to a move to St James’ Park.

Ben Foster was ‘so close’ to signing for Newcastle

On the latest episode of Fozcast – The Ben Foster Podcast, the veteran goalkeeper looked back through the text messages he and Pope sent each other following the decision not to sign for Newcastle.

“So you’ve message me ‘can’t believe you haven’t signed for the Toon just because I haven’t been on the podcast yet’,” Foster said.

“I put ‘sorry mate, I was so close too, I just couldn’t move away from the family basically. But I woke up the next day and knew I made the right decision’.”

He added: “I remember texting Aaron Ramsdale about Eddie Howe, I was like ‘what days off does Eddie Howe give?’.”

Wrexham move was better for Foster

In the end, Foster will feel justified in his decision. The move up north did not make sense for him from a personal standpoint, but he obviously gave it some thought considering he was texting Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale to see what Eddie Howe is like.

But he decided to say no, and instead got the chance to play for Wrexham. It came as a real shock, but the move could not be going better for him. Their schedule suits him perfectly, their popularity has massively boosted his media presence, and he has helped them achieve promotion to the Football League.

As for Newcastle, they brought in Karius, who ended up making his debut in the League Cup final. Sadly, it was not a debut to remember for the German. Although it wouldn’t have been much better if it had been Foster in between the sticks.