Birmingham City set to replace Joe Hart with Ben Foster

England goalkeeper Ben Foster is expected to sign for Birmingham City later today.

Alex McLeish will have to pay between £4m and £6m in order to secure the services of the Manchester United goalkeeper. Foster has not appeared in the Premier League since October.

Sir Alex Ferguson had originally identified Foster as United’s first choice ‘keeper but a number of mistakes, including a high profile gaffe in the Manchester derby, resulted in the Manchester United boss opting to switch back to Edwin van der Sar.

Van der Sar signed a one year contract extention in February, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2010-11 season and effectively sealing Foster’s fate.

The 27-year-old finshed the season third choice behind the Dutchman and Polish international Tomasz Kuszczak at Old Trafford.

Due to his limited appearances for United this season Foster was not selected in the provisional 30-man England World Cup squad by Fabio Capello. The England manager instead opted to include Joe Hart, David James and Robert Green.

Birmingham City require a new goalkeeper after Joe Hart returned to Manchester City at the end of a breakthrough loan spell at the Midland’s club. The only experienced goalkeeper currently contracted at St Andrews is Northern Ireland veteran Maik Taylor.