South African forward Lyle Foster has painted a picture of his upbringing from Orlando Pirates in appreciation of a stunning move to English side Burnley.
Foster was announced as a third January signing by Championship table-toppers the Clarets on Wednesday, who secured the star on a four-and-half year deal from Belgian side KVC Westerlo.
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The Bafana Bafana international scored eight goals in 22 games for Westerlo in the Jupiler Pro League this season and that convinced the English side to swoop the 22-year old on a long-term contract.
Foster came through the academy at Pirates and after his promotion to the first team, within two years he earned a move to French giants Monaco in 2019.
"I'm very happy to be here, I'm blessed and thankful for the opportunity and just can't wait to get started," the Pirates academy graduate told Burnley media in his first interview at the club.
Foster went on to reveal how he felt when he learned that Burnley were interested in his services and says after he was told about their interest he could not think about anything else.
"If I'm being very honest, I was very surprised, I was on holiday at the time, my agent rang me up and told me there's interest from Burnley and from that moment my heart and the head were set on the club," he said.
"I counted down the days to get here, I'm so happy to be here," he affirmed with a big smile.
The Soweto native also gave a brief summary of his journey, where after joining Monaco from the Buccaneers, he had loan spells at Belgian side Cercle Brugge and Portuguese outfit Vitoria Guimaraes, before a second stint at Westerlo on a permanent transfer.
"I came through the ranks at Orlando Pirates, I was there for quite some time, I loved my years there and from then I went to Monaco. I had a little stint in Belgium, Portugal and back to Belgium," he carried on.
"I'm here now, like I said very happy to be here."
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The 22-year old was asked what appealed him the most about the opportunity to join Vincent Kompany's charges and explained that South Africans follow English football the most in the European leagues and his career has basically come full circle.
"Where I'm from in South Africa English football in general is the league we all follow so for me as a kid growing up it was always a dream to come to England," he said.
"When I got the call that Burnley wanted me it felt a bit unreal and ja it's a childhood dream coming through, I'm so happy to be here," he added.
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