Why Wes Foderingham could be a good signing for Birmingham City
According to Daily Mail (h/t Birmingham Mail), Birmingham City have been linked with a move for Rangers shot-stopper Wes Foderingham ahead of the January transfer window.
The 28-year-old had previously been on the Blues’ radar when he was released by Swindon Town back in 2015 but Foderingham snubbed a move to St. Andrew’s to join Scottish giants Rangers, who were then competing in the Scottish Championship. (h/t Birmingham Live)
Birmingham City, though, are expected to face stiff competition in their pursuit of Foderingham from Championship rivals Middlesbrough, who have lined up the out-of-favour Rangers star as a potential alternative to Darren Randolph should he depart for West Ham during the mid-season window. (Daily Mail h/t Birmingham Live)
The Hammersmith-born shot-stopper was on the books of Fulham and Crystal Palace as a youngster earlier in his career but he never made a professional appearance for either club. Having played for non-league clubs Bromley, Boreham Wood and Histon, Foderingham moved on to join Swindon Town in League Two.
The former England U19 international went on to register 191 appearances for Swindon in the League Two and the League One before helping Rangers secure promotion back to the top-flight.
Foderingham retained his No.1 role at Ibrox for a further couple of seasons but he has slipped down the pecking order since the arrival of Steven Gerrard, who has relied on Allan McGregor as the undisputed first-choice between the sticks.
The 28-year-old, who is out of contract at Ibrox in the summer of 2020, made 8 appearances in all competitions for the Gers in the previous campaign and has only clocked up 4 so far this term. With McGregor recently putting pen to paper on a new deal, Foderingham’s situation seems unlikely to change and perhaps a January exit could be a fair settlement for both parties.
Meanwhile, Birmingham City look set for a season of mid-table obscurity in the Championship under Pep Clotet, with the Blues currently languishing 15th in the standings, nine points adrift of the playoff spots.
To that end, Clotet will surely need to find some inspiration in the January window to spark a turnaround of fortunes in the second half of the campaign.
To put things into perspective, Birmingham City have quite a few gaps to fill at both ends of the pitch and the club’s links with Wes Foderingham certainly make sense, given that the long-term goalkeeping situation at St. Andrew’s continues to be a cause of concern.
Verdict
Lee Camp, 35, started the season as the designated No.1 between the sticks but a string of mediocre displays prompted Clotet to hand academy graduate Connal Trueman an extended run in goal.
The 23-year-old has started the club’s last seven games in the Championship and despite showing signs of promise, Trueman is yet to keep a single clean-sheet.
Now, with 35-year-old Camp and David Stockdale, 34, both out of contract at St. Andrew’s at the end of the season and youngster Moha Ramos only on loan from Real Madrid, Birmingham City need to start lining up some new goalkeepers and Foderingham’s wealth of Football League experience makes him a risk-free option.
The 28-year-old still has plenty of years remaining in his prime and his unresolved contract situation at Ibrox means that the Blues would be well within their rights to look at the prospect of a cut-price deal in January.
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Having said that, Wes Foderingham to Birmingham City in January makes perfect sense for a number of reasons.
