Foster opens up on whopping R131-million price tag

Earlier this year, Burnley formally announced the signing of Bafana Bafana’s Lyle Foster from Belgian side K.V.C. Westerlo for an undisclosed fee.

The 22-year-old striker penned a four-and-a-half-year deal at Turf Moor and became the Clarets’ third signing of the January transfer window.

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Burnley are well-placed as they seek Premier League promotion, and reports suggest they secured the services of Foster for €7m upfront (R131 million); a figure that could increase by a further €3m if they gain promotion. It could ultimately all amount to a staggering figure of around R187.7 million for the South African.

This effectively makes him the most expensive South African player, overtaking legendary Bafana striker Benni McCarthy, who is now coaching at Manchester United.

“I’m still pinching myself. I’m just very happy at the moment [and] very grateful for everything that’s happening in my life,” he told reporters on Monday as he joined up with Bafana for matches against Liberia. “I can speak for hours about how grateful I am, but I think I need to shift my focus now to the game on Friday and Tuesday and just very excited to be back home.”

“Being South Africa’s most expensive player, I try not to think about it too much, to be honest. I just want to play football and enjoy it. [I’m] happy to be in the UK and hopefully, I can have a long and fruitful career there and just continue working hard and try my best as possible to go as far as I can.

“I want to create some sort of legacy,” he added. “I want to leave something behind and I think that only works if you work hard and if you are committed. I think that’s what Lucas was over the years and even Benni is spoken very highly about in the UK. Steven Pienaar, Quinton Fortune, Aaron Mokoena, these guys have set the bar for players like us who followed them.”

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Lyle Foster pictured with Vincent Kompany above. Photo: Twitter

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Soweto-born Foster began his career with Orlando Pirates, rising through the academy ranks and going onto feature 11 times for the first team. Foster earned himself a move to Ligue 1 with AS Monaco in January 2019.

The 6ft 2in forward then joined top-flight Belgian side Cercle Brugge on a season-long loan from Monaco, making 18 appearances before the season was cut short in March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

Foster made the switch to Portuguese club Vitoria SC in August later that year, before joining Westerlo on loan for 2021-22 campaign.

Following a successful loan spell Foster joined Westerlo on a permanent deal last summer. After scoring eight goals this season and assisting three, Foster becomes Vincent Kompany’s third signing this month.

Internationally, the attacker has represented his native country from U17-U23 level and has since racked up nine senior caps.

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