'Woah!' - Stunned Wrexham stars couldn't actually believe they were signing Ben Foster as Louis Lloyd reflects on 'statement of intent' from Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney

• Keeper stepped out of retirement
• Deal was kept a secret
• Helped to secure promotion

WHAT HAPPENED? The former England international goalkeeper, who announced his retirement in September 2022, accepted an SOS call from Dragons co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney when they found themselves short on shot-stopping options in their National League promotion push. Foster was talked into donning his gloves once more, but the deal was kept secret until the 40-year-old rocked up at SToK Racecourse and put pen to paper on a short-term contract.

WHAT THEY SAID: Teenage striker Louis Lloyd has told the RobRyanRed podcast of discovering that Foster was joining Wrexham’s ranks: “I remember walking in – me and Ryan [Bennett] always got in at the same time every morning – and we have seen the Disney cameras outside and were like ‘what’s going on here?’ We walked through the player’s entrance and seen Fozzy there and were like ‘woah, that’s different’. To be honest, when we first got there we didn’t know if he was just doing a video or if he was signing. We were in the changing room and whispering to each other like ‘surely not!’ Then we went for breakfast and he came into the canteen and he was in Wrexham training kit and we were like ‘he’s signing’. We were like ‘Jesus, that is a statement of intent, guys’. The buzz around the stadium and training was just another level – it was mental.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Foster took in eight appearances for Wrexham towards the end of the 2022-23 campaign, with his most memorable moment coming when saving a stoppage-time penalty against promotion rivals Notts County that put the Dragons on course to claim the National League title.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? Foster formed part of a post-season party in Las Vegas that was paid for by Reynolds and McElhenney, with Wrexham hoping that he can be talked into staying on for the 2023-24 campaign – with his vast experience set to put to good use by Phil Parkinson back in League Two.