One player returns, another leaves Detroit City FC

A day after announcing a new center back signing, Detroit City FC on Saturday announced one player is returning and another is departing as the team's 2023 training camp gets underway at its facility in Detroit.

Midfielder Cy Goddard will make an extended stay in Detroit after coming over near the end of last season, as the club announced he's returned on a one-year deal. The 25-year-old London native and former Tottenham Hotspur (English Premier League) academy player sought earlier arrival in 2022, but only wound up making six appearances for Le Rouge.

Goddard made two starts and played a total of 153 minutes over his season with DCFC, adding one assist. His return in 2023 will give head coach Trevor James an extended look to decide whether Goddard is a long-term solution in the midfield.

The club also announced player-coach Richard Foster, who signed on in September alongside Goddard, will not be back for the upcoming season. Foster, 37, made five appearances totaling 264 minutes and had one assist.

Foster's TransferMarkt page lists him as a retired player, which has been confirmed by the club.

Part of Foster's migration to the United States from Scotland was to gain mentorship from James. The two had met years ago while obtaining their UEFA A-level coaching license and struck up a kinship. Upon joining DCFC in September, Foster stated plans to throw himself fully into a coaching career when he retired as a player. It's not immediately clear whether Foster has another coaching job lined up.

"In some of the sessions that he did, he had a good way about him, the way he would talk to the players and deliver messages," James said in September. "So I always kept that in my mind ... that he was probably gonna be a good coach."

nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @nolanbianchi