Better Know a Signing: Isaiah Foster

Grayson Chalmers

As presciently, and exclusively, predicted this week by The Post, the FC announced Thursday the acquisition of Isaiah Foster, a 19-year-old left back who most recently played for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. If you’re not a sicko, you haven’t really watched a lot of Colorado Springs Switchbacks in your life, much less in the last year, so you probably don’t know a lot about this player and you’re worried about what you’re going to say to your coworkers who think of you as “the FC guy/gal/they” in your office.

But I’m here to help. Below is all the information about Isaiah Foster you need to make yourself look like you know what you’re talking about – at least until he takes the field and proves everything wrong.

Background

As mentioned above, Foster is a 19-year-old left back who spent last year in USL. Colorado Springs signed him directly  out of the Bethesda Soccer Club academy, which has helped produce such players as Jeremy Ebobisse, Nicholas Gioachinni, Chase Gasper, Freddy Adu, Collin Martin, Bill Hamid, Dominique Badji, Joe Gyau, and Gedion Zelalem, among other professionals. So he comes from a certain pedigree, for sure.

I couldn’t find any interviews where he spoke in depth about his decision to sign with Colorado Springs instead of going straight to college, but generally in US soccer there is a developing (but still small) trend of teenagers signing USL contracts to avoid being tied down to all of MLS’s processes, including the SuperDraft. Reporting in the summer indicated that Foster had interest both from MLS and from the Bundesliga, so clearly betting on himself seems to have worked out well. I will be curious to find out what kind of salary he negotiated – I’m not expecting big money, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s comparable to a Generation Adidas-type deal.

Acquisition

The FC brought Foster in using a combination of acquisition methods.

First, of course, there was the requisite tribute to DC United, which apparently has a right of prima nocta on all of the FC’s players. It didn’t hurt too much this time though, as the FC only had to bend over to the tune of $50,000 GAM, in exchange for first place in the waiver order. (Foster was subject to MLS’s waiver process for reasons that are as equally frustrating as they are stupid.)

Second, the FC reportedly paid $150,000 to Colorado Springs. Earlier reporting had indicated that Foster was out of contract, but the USL Championship’s official announcement of the transfer confirmed that Colorado Springs had an option for 2023 that it exercised right before the deal.

Player Profile

Now, I said above that Foster is a left back, which is true but not complete. In his one year at Colorado Springs, he played every left-sided position – back, midfield, and wing. So I would expect that he is at least decent with the ball, has good athleticism, and has shown some potential in the attack.

In the USL announcement of the transfer, Colorado Springs Head Coach and GM Brendan Burke praised Foster’s “intelligence level, … athleticism, and … technical ability[.]” (Burke previously worked at Philadelphia Union, and it’s very possible that his professional connection with Chris Albright helped us land this deal.) Other scouting reports that I have found say that Foster is a good defender whose athleticism is an asset, who is a promising attacker but still underdeveloped in that area. Unfortunately, the only highlight on YouTube for Foster is the lone goal he scored last season, against FC Tulsa, and it doesn’t really show anything worth talking about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myU_zhsnjXs

I understand that Colorado Springs games are available online, but I’m not going to watch them.

Anyway, I’d say he profiles right now as a good replacement for Johnny Nelson to back up Barreal, but also he’s about five years younger, he’s more athletic, and he has more potential as an attacker.

So can we play a 4-4-2 diamond now?

No. But, we needed left back depth even in our current formation, and that’s exactly what we got – with significant upside.