Broos – Bafana’s Foster is an even better player now

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos says Lyle Foster’s improvement at Burnley has been impressive since he joined Vincent Kompany’s side.

Foster joined Burnley in January from Belgian side Westerlo, and while he did not play much in the second half of last season, as the Clarets won promotion to the English Premier League, the 23 year-old has been brilliant this season in the English top flight.

The Bafana striker has three goals in just four EPL appearances so far, and may have had more but for a three-match ban after he was sent off against Nottingham Forest.

He returned from that suspension to score for Burnley in a 2-1 win at Luton on Tuesday, their first win since returning to the elite.

“This shows again that if you training and playing at a high level and have qualities you can become a better player,” said Broos this week, as he named Foster in his 23-man squad for friendlies against Eswatini and the Ivory Coast later this month.

“If you compare Foster to last season in Belgium, already he was good, but you can see now there is a difference.

“He is training every day with those (Burnley) players at a high level, if you go to Burnley and follow their training you would be amazed, they play like they are playing in a game. They want to show the coach that they have to play. It is very tough, but he stays in the team.”

Foster’s next chance to show what he can do in a Burnley shirt comes on Saturday against Chelsea at Turf Moor. Broos also helped Foster in his development at Burnley when he allowed him to miss Bafana’s Afcon qualifier against Morocco in June, a move assisted by his friendship with fellow Belgian Kompany.

It was Broos who was head coach and gave Kompany a chance in the first team as an 18 year-old at Anderlecht.

‘A bit special’

“The only time the coach (Kompany) called me was before the game against Morocco, because he had already started preparation for the new season,” added Broos.

“I totally agreed, it was very important Lyle started pre-season with the team. If he had been with us … for two or three weeks he would not have been there. That is why we agreed and also because we had already qualified.

“The contact is a bit special because I had Kompany as a player. The communication is very good and there is never a misunderstanding.”

Foster scored the only goal of Bafana’s last international friendly break, netting the winner in a 1-0 victory over DR Congo. Bafana will play Eswatini at Orlando Stadium on October 13 and the Ivory Coast away from home four days later.