West Brom defender Liam Ridgewell wants the club to try and sign Birmingham loanee Ben Foster on a permanent basis.
Defender wants Blues loanee to join Albion permanently
West Brom defender Liam Ridgewell wants the club to try and sign Birmingham loanee Ben Foster on a permanent basis.
Ridgewell has first-hand knowledge of Foster's qualities from their spell together at St Andrew's.
The former Manchester United player helped Blues win the Carling Cup 12 months ago before making the temporary switch to the Hawthorns last summer on a season-long loan.
But Ridgewell, who moved to the Baggies from Birmingham last month for an undisclosed fee, hopes it can become a long-term deal.
Quality
He said: "I hope Albion do pursue it (signing Foster permanently). For us to push forward we need some top quality players and Ben is certainly one of those.
"Transfer policy is nothing to do with me but Ben is a good keeper and it would be good to have him permanently.
"Even at Birmingham, Ben was a fantastic keeper. He is quality and it's a pleasure to play in front of him.
"He is up there with the best. We had Joe Hart at Blues before Ben and the two are not dissimilar in their stature, the way they play."
Ridgewell believes Foster is still good enough to play for England if he ends his self-imposed international exile which came into force towards the end of last season.
He said: "Ben is more than capable of playing for England - but it's his decision not to make himself available.
"It's a bonus for us. We get to keep him fresh and it can only benefit us and him."
West Brom have received a fitness boost ahead of Saturday's home clash with Sunderland, with skipper Chris Brunt back in training for the first time since suffering a fractured ankle on New Year's Day.
Positive
Manager Roy Hodgson said: "Chris Brunt has only trained twice and has only really trained once with the team, which was today.
"There was never really any chance of Chris Brunt being considered for this game.
"But he's certainly well within his schedule and the prognosis the medical people set, so that is a positive. Yes, he might have a chance for the Chelsea game.
"Once he gets back into training, trains fully for a week and has no reaction to the ankle that was operated on, then there is no reason he shouldn't be considered."
