Former Orlando Pirates star Lyle Foster is back in the English Premier League with Burnley. This can only be good for Bafana Bafana.
Burnley have won promotion to the promised land of the Premier League after guaranteeing a top-two finish in the 2024-2025 Championship table with two games to spare. Lyle Foster made 27 appearances under new boss Scott Parker with two goals and five assists. This was the ultimate response to relegation heartbreak in 2023-2024 when they finished 19th with 24 points.
Lyle Foster can shine in the top flight again
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. In 2011, he moved from Everton to Tottenham and fetched a fee of €3.6m (R67.6 million). The guaranteed fee that Burnley paid to Westerlo for Lyle Foster’s services 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 something approaching a staggering R225 million.
How did Foster fare in the Premier League last time?
Lyle Foster scored five goals and provided three assists in 24 top-flight appearances in 2023-2024; 22 were starts. It’s no exaggeration to say he was arguably their best player, and to produce those numbers in a side struggling at the basement is a superb achievement. He’ll be eager to build on those numbers in 2025-2026.
Will you be Lyle Foster strutting his stuff for Burnley next season?
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