Ben Foster had a brief but prolific stint with Wrexham, which included travelling to America for a pre-season tour.
Wrexham were pushing to secure promotion from the National League at the 15th time of asking in the 2022/23 season.
Phil Parkinson’s side had excelled for large periods of the campaign but were locked in a battle with Notts County for the league title and, in turn, the only automatic promotion spot.
With injuries plaguing their goalkeeper department across the season and fears they may once again be forced to settle for a play-off place – losing to Grimsby Town in the semi-finals in 2021/22 – the Red Dragons looked to the free-agent market to strengthen between the sticks.
Having taken a career break and seemingly hung up his boots following an ilurtious career, Wrexham convinced Ben Foster to sign for them on a short-term contract.
The ex-Manchester United man started the remaining eight league games of the 2022/23 season and was then offered an extension that was supposed to keep him at the Racecourse Ground for another year.
Why America left Ben Foster stunned on Wrexham pre-season tour
Foster ended up retiring after playing just four League Two matches, but before that, he enjoyed a pre-season tour of America with Wrexham in the summer of 2023.
The Welsh outfit faced Chelsea, La Galaxy, Manchester United, and Philadelphia Union, travelling to the likes of North Carolina and California.
Now, during an appearance on the Breaking Beard podcast this week, Foster has been discussing his stint in the United States with Wrexham.
When doing so, the former shot-stopper revealed he couldn’t believe what the training facilities were like in the gyms inside of the stadiums the Red Dragons were playing at.
He even claimed that they were better than the facilities of Premier League clubs.
Foster said: “We went round a few a few of the gyms at the stadiums were all the players get changed and do the workouts.
“Honestly, you’ve never seen anything like it. Better than Premier League facilities. Better than Premier League facilities, and this is a college gym. The college gym is just a never-ending room of weights and every bit of equipment you could ever think of. Millions and millions of pounds of equipment, it was so, so good it was.”
Will Wrexham 2025 pre-season tour be in America
Wrexham returned to America once again in the summer of 2024, facing off with the likes of Chelsea and several MLS sides.
The club have grown a huge fanbase in North America, and it seems another US tour could be on the cards later this year.
Wrexham chief Shaun Harvey was asked in 2024 if another pre-season tour of America was planned for 2025.
And while he didn’t confirm it was, he seemed to hint it was likely to happen again, as per The Athletic.
Harvey said: “The rationale is we have seen the success of taking the team away during pre-season. Not just from a commercial side but also a real practical perspective. I can’t see those circumstances not continuing.”