PROFILE | Everything you need to know about Bafana's England-bound star Lyle Foster

Bafana Bafana forward Lyle Foster is flying the South African flag high after he completed a move from Belgian side KVC Westerlo to English outfit Burnley on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old put pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year deal which will see him don the famous club colours of claret and blue.

He will also work under the Manchester City legend and current Clarets manager Vincent Kompany, who handpicked the player to leave Belgium for the United Kingdom.

Foster, who stands at 1.85m tall, was born and bred in Noordgesig a place situated on the cusp of Soweto, a place flooded with football talent where the likes of Kaizer Motaung Sr, Doctor Khumalo, Sibusiso Vilakazi, Teko Modise, Lucas Radebe and Siphiwe Tshabalala all grew up before football stardom.

Like many of these former players from Soweto or surrounding areas, there were only three well-known clubs from Soweto where you would likely end up as a young and enthusiastic player: Moroka Swallows, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates and Foster ended up at the latter in Parktown.

Coming through the ranks at the Buccaneers and honing his craft, Foster jumped to the various national team junior levels before making his Bafana debut as a teenager.

It took Foster 11 senior appearances for Pirates before he caught the attention of French giants AS Monaco and joined the Ligue 1 side as Europe was calling his name, which was inevitable.

He played eight games for Monaco's under-21 side in the French fourth tier before tasting senior level on two occasions.

Not long after, Foster was loaned out to Belgium outfit Cercle Brugge, where he further developed as a player in more than 1000 minutes of playing time.

He was sold to Portugal outfit Vitoria Guimaraes SC in August 2020 for €1.2m (around R22m) but had limited playing time due to several injuries and picking up the coronavirus.

To get minutes in his legs, Foster played for the Guimaraes B side and then returned to Belgium for a loan deal with Westerlo in June 2021.

Foster impressed during a year at the club that Westerlo made his move permanent in July 2022 for €1 million (R18.6m).

The Bafana forward totalled 47 appearances, 13 goals and nine assists for the Belgium outfit before Kompany urged Burnley owners to lure the South African to Turf Moor.

It is reported that Burnley tabled a concrete offer of €7 million, rising to €10 million (R186m) depending on various clauses set in the contract.

Burnley are soaring in England's Championship and currently hold the first position.

They look set to be promoted to the Premier League, where Foster could become the 15th South African to play in the most-watched football league worldwide.

Foster has a chance to make his debut for Burnley in the FA Cup fourth round clash against Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Saturday, 28 January (17:00 SA time).

A week later, Burnley will be returning their focus to the Championship in an away tie at Carrow Road against Norwich City (14:30 SA time).