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• Welcome to Wrexham! Former England and Man Utd keeper Foster joins as promotion nears in Ryan Reynolds era

  Ben Foster has come out of retirement to join National League leaders Wrexham, the club owned by US actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

  The former England and Manchester United goalkeeper joins the Robins as they look to clinch a return to the English Football League, sprinkling a little more stardust on the promotion project.

  Wrexham, who have eight games remaining, are three points clear of nearest rivals Notts County and have a game in hand over the Magpies.

  Foster, 39, has spent most of his career in the Premier League and played for Watford last season as the Hornets suffered relegation from the top flight.

  He now resumes his career in the fifth tier with a Wrexham side who have been the subject of the Welcome to Wrexham documentary, looking at the Reynolds and McElhenney era.

  Wrexham have been competing at National League level since 2008, having previously been mainstays of the Football League for over 80 years.

  Foster is no stranger to the north Wales club, having had a loan stint there in the early stages of his career, during his time as a Stoke City player.

  He said of his return to football: "I'm over the moon. The first time I was here, it was genuinely the springboard to the rest of my career – on the back of the loan move, playing in the LDV Vans Trophy final at the Millennium Stadium, I got my move to Manchester United at the start of the next season. It was absolutely bonkers!

  "If you'd told me 18 years ago that I'd have gone on to have the career that I have had, I probably wouldn't have believed you to be honest, so I do owe a lot to Wrexham."

  Foster won eight England caps, last featuring in 2014 for the Three Lions, and has signed for Wrexham until the end of the season. He may feature in the home game against York City on Saturday.

  Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson told the club's website he was "delighted" to bring in Foster, saying: "It was important we had all bases covered going into the last part of the season, which this signing ensures."

• Rumour Has It: Bayern plotting shock swoop for Chelsea flop Lukaku

  Chelsea seem to have resigned themselves to making a major loss on Romelu Lukaku, who has only netted five times on loan at Inter this term.

  According to a Football Insider report, the Blues are ready to move him on in at the end of the season, with Inter unlikely to try to extend his stay in Milan.

  Chelsea spent £97.5milion to bring Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge in August 2021, but they are unlikely to get anywhere near that now.

  TOP STORY – GERMAN CHAMPIONS LINE UP SHOCK LUKAKU MOVE

  Bayern Munich are lining up a shock move for Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku to bolster their attacking options, claims Fichajes.

  The report claims Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann is an admirer of the Belgium striker, who he believes is one of the world's best forwards if injury free.

  Bayern will not commence negotiations with Chelsea until the end of the season. The German champions had been linked with Harry Kane as they look for someone to replace Robert Lewandowski, who left for Barcelona last year.

  Calciomercato reports that Chelsea may try to land a deal with Roma with a swap deal involving Tammy Abraham.

   

  ROUND-UP

  – 90min claims Manchester City have reignited their interest in signing 19-year-old Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz following a long-term knee injury which forced him to miss the 2022 World Cup. Fabrizio Romano claims Real Madrid will compete for the German's services too.

  – Tottenham are interested in Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson, reports ESPN. Henderson is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest from United, who could use Spurs' interest as leverage in a deal for Harry Kane, per the report

  – Leeds United forward Wilfried Gnonto is drawing interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, while 90min claims Juventus and Napoli are among a list of Italian clubs tracking him too.

  – Fabrizio Romano claims Barcelona on the cusp of agreeing to a deal with Athletic Bilbao centre-back Inigo Martinez to join the Blaugrana on a free transfer in the off-season.

  – Paris Saint-Germain are prepared to let Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches exit amid interest from Milan along with Premier League clubs Aston Villa, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Tottenham and Wolves, reports 90min.

  – Football London reports Arsenal are ready to ramp up their interest in Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi with a bid to come in the coming months, although he has a €60m release clause in his contract.

• Fraser McConnell caps off NitroRX season with podium finish as Dreyer & Reinbold claims team title

   Jamaica’s lone rally cross driver Fraser McConnell capped off a fine 2022/23 Nitro Rally Cross season by finishing second in the season finale Group E Round 10 event at Glen Helen Raceway in California last weekend.  McConnell demonstrated his tactical prowess during the damp six-lap final, only to be edged out by Dreyer&Reinbold Swedish teammate Robin Larsson, who took the final event in a time of 4:58:964.

  Norway’s Andreas Bakkerud made it a clean sweep for team DRR after finishing third.

  For his efforts, McConnell ended the overall championship third in Nitro RX 2022/23 and his contribution also allowed for team DRR to secure the team title which was pleasing for the Jamaican.  “It has been a really great season in Nitro with me having a lot on the table and racing alongside people like Travis Pastrana, who is my childhood hero,” McConnell said.

  “To be able to get third in the Championship with such a stacked field, was a big accomplishment for myself and Jamaica.”

  McConnell entered the final day as one of the top five racers who were close in the championship standings. With Larsson eventually sewing up the championship, it was down to McConnell and Pastrana to see who would finish second and third, with the American just edging out the Jamaican in the last race of the season.

   Following another successful season made possible by the support of sponsors Tru Shake, Just Bet, Proven Wealth, Jamaica Tourist Board and Rainforest Seafood, McConnell is already looking ahead to next season with his team in talks with the Nitro RX organizers to kick off the new season in June of this year.

   “I am very happy with where I am at in my career and this past season really developed me as a driver. This shows that I can compete and beat the best in the world,” added McConnell.

   After a break back home, McConnell will next turn his attention to the X44 Vida Carbon Racing, the Extreme E Team founded by Seven-Time Formula 1 Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton.

   McConnell will join season-two winner and World Champion Cristina Gutiérrez as his race partner.