West Brom admit interest in Ben Foster

Foster was relegated with Birmingham last season (GETTY IMAGES)

West Brom boss Roy Hodgson has admitted his interest in bringing goalkeeper Ben Foster to The Hawthorns and the Black County club are in talks with Birmingham.

Unconfirmed reports suggested Blues would be willing to allow Foster, who has currently made himself unavailable for England, to leave St Andrew's on loan over the forthcoming season in a bid to reduce their wage bill as they continue to count the cost of relegation to the npower Championship.

Foster has been linked with a host of clubs over the summer, with midlands neighbours Albion leading the chase having sold Scott Carson to Turkish club Bursaspor for an undisclosed fee.

Asked about the 28-year-old stopper, Hodgson told the Express & Star: "I am aware of our interest in Ben Foster but I am not aware of how far down the line we are with our negotiations with Birmingham, so I can't make any comments on that.

"But Ben Foster is a goalkeeper who interests us and, if we can get him to West Bromwich Albion on loan or on a permanent deal, that would be something we would be very happy about."

Earlier this week, Hodgson spoke of a "couple of major targets" that he had identified who would make a major difference to his squad, stressing chairman Jeremy Peace knows who they are and will hopefully be acting.

The Baggies boss refused to name his targets but one is certain to be a goalkeeper while the other is thought to be a striker, with Reading's Shane Long believed to be on their radar.

Albion also still have interest in former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves and plan to hold further talks with the free agent in the near future.