Durban — English Championship club Burnley are closing in on the signing of Bafana Bafana attacker Lyle Foster, according to reports.
The 22-year-old is set to complete a medical at the club which will see him play under former Manchester City captain and Belgian football legend Vincent Kompany, who now manages Burnley.
Burnley have been in brilliant form this season and are currently on course to attain promotion to the Premier League next term as they sit on top of the standings with a five-point advantage over second-place Sheffield United.
Burnley have won 18 of their 28 games, which has included winning their last eight consecutive league games.
Kompany’s team will be looking to score more goals as they look to strengthen their promotion bid, and Foster could help them achieve their target.
Foster has been in good form in Belgium this season as he has scored eight goals ,while also chipping in with four assists for Westerlo in the Jupiler Pro League. In addition to that, Kompany was also seen watching him in action along with Burnley assistant manager Craig Bellamy last week.
Should a move go through, Foster may not walk straight into Burnley’s starting XI. However, he is still a very young player and will improve, hence, he could prove to be a good long-term investment.
A product of the Orlando Pirates youth development system, Foster’s journey to Europe started in 2019 when he left the Sea Robbers to join French Ligue 1 club Monaco. Since then he has had stints with Cercle Brugge (loan) and Vitoria de Guimaraes, before he joined Westerlo last year.
Foster has represented South Africa at various youth levels and has been a Bafana player since 2019.
He scored his first Bafana goal in a 2-1 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier defeat against Morocco in June last year. To date, that has been his only goal for the national team.
IOL Sport