Wes Foderingham opens up on Sheffield United career and proudest moment ahead of Bramall Lane exit

Wes Foderingham has opened up on his summer departure from Sheffield United, admitting there was “never a dull moment” during his time at Bramall Lane. Foderingham experienced two relegations, one promotion and a failed play-off campaign during his four years as a Blade, which will officially come to an end when his contract expires at the end of next month.

Foderingham had to bide his time before getting his chance to stake a claim for United’s No.1 spot and seized his chance when it came, helping the Blades into the Premier League last season and then making a long-awaited top-flight debut. He lost his place to Ivo Grbic in January after failing to agree a new deal to stay at Bramall Lane but then regained his spot towards the back end of the campaign before waving goodbye to Unitedites with another impressive showing on Sunday’s final curtain against Tottenham Hotspur.

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Foderingham has already been linked with a move to Premier League side West Ham as a back-up goalkeeper and admits he will always look back “fondly” on his time at United. “There’s never been a dull moment. We’ve always had something to fight for during those seasons, which has made it exciting. On the whole I’ve enjoyed my time a lot.”

On his Premier League debut, on the opening day of the season against Crystal Palace, Foderingham said: “It was extremely proud and something I’ve worked towards my whole career. It’s always difficult for goalkeepers because you have to be patient and bide your time. I did it sort of the opposite way, where I’ve had to work my way up and an opportunity in the Premier League came towards the latter stages of my career.

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“But I felt ready for it; mentally, physically and more importantly, from a quality perspective I felt like I was ready to make that step. I had a decent game and it was a special day for me as well because I used to play for Crystal Palace. I had a good time there as a young boy. So all things considered it was a great day. Apart from the result.”

Last season’s promotion was also a career highlight for the 33-year-old. “It was brilliant,” he told SUTV. “We started the season strongly, which was a big thing for us because we said we don’t want to be on the back foot from the off. ‘Let’s get as many points on the board as we can, early on’. And we managed to do that, and tried to maintain that for the season. I thought we did that really well. We had a little blip in there where things got a little bit rocky. But all good teams find a way, and that’s what we did.”