Bafana Bafana and former Orlando Pirates striker Lyle Foster has a route back to the Premier League after Burnley got relegated last term.
Ipswich Town close to sealing a deal for Lyle Foster
According to media reports on X, newly-promoted Ipswich Town are negotiating a long transfer for Lyle Foster with an obligation to buy. The 23-year-old Soweto-born striker scored five goals and supplied three assists in 24 Premier League appearances last term. Foster has 12 caps and four goals for South Africa. The obligation to buy figure is £25m, which is roughly €30m or R594 million.
Foster is Bafana’s priciest-ever player
Benni McCarthy was formerly the most expensive South African footballer ever when Celta Vigo paid Ajax €6m (R113 million) for his services. After Benni, Joburg-born playmaker Steven Pienaar was the second-most expensive when 2011 he moved from Everton to Tottenham and fetched a fee of €3.6m (R67.6 million). The guaranteed fee that Burnley will pay to Westerlo for Kyle Foster’s services has shattered the record held by Benni since 1999. The Clarets paid €7m upfront, with a further €4m of add-ons triggered because of their promotion to the EPL. Foster’s move amounted to a staggering R225 million, but now his value is estimated at €13m (R257 million).
If Foster’s proposed move to Ipswich goes through, he’ll shatter his previous record.
Self-proclaimed Orlando Pirates fan
Lyle Foster was born in 2000 in Noordgesig, Soweto, and broke through with Orlando Pirates as a youth product. He was promoted to the Buccaneers first team in 2017, and his first big move abroad came two years later when Ligue 1’s Monaco came calling. AFoster made 11 appearances for the Sea Robbers before embarking on his European adventure.
MTN8 semi-final action for Orlando Pirates in an icy Mother City
Meanwhile, Orlando Pirates are preparing for a postponed MTN8 semi-final clash with Cape Town City. Initially planned for Tuesday evening, inclement weather conditions forced the game to be delayed. It’s not all that windy and rainy in Cape Town on Wednesday, but there is snow on Table Mountain!
Cape Town City hosts defending MTN8 champions Pirates in the semi-finals. This first leg from Cape Town is staged on Wednesday 28 August at 18:00 and the second leg at Orlando Stadium is on Saturday 31 August at 15:00. Thabiso Monyane will play right-back for both legs with new boy Van Rooyen ineligible and Thabiso Lebitso nursing an injury.
Are you excited to see Foster back in the EPL?
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