Burnley head coach Vincent Kompany has hailed the “outstanding quality” of Bafana Bafana forward Lyle Foster and explained why he desperately wanted to sign him in January already.
The 22-year-old has already made four appearances for the Clarets, helping the team to pick up three wins and one draw.
While three of his games have come off the bench, he started last week in the FA Cup fourth round rematch but had to be taken off with cramps late in a game where provided his first assist for his new club.
After the match, Kompany – a four-time Premier League winner – explained that it’s one of the reasons he wanted Foster in January already so he can get used to the physicality in the English game and also learn how things are done at the club.
“It’s exactly the reason why these young, talented players, you want them a little bit earlier with you,” he told Burnley Express TV.
“That they can go through these kind of things. The talent is there and the potential is undeniable.
“I am just happy for his work, defensively, for the team. So he did that really well and on the ball is what I’m least worried about because that’s his, that’s actually the outstanding quality.
“But obviously today he lost a lot of balls and but it’s a good time for him to do it. The only thing is that you gain a lot by being around the team in training, in games and in meetings and I’d much rather go through this period.
“I mean, we will go with what we see, the best one will play. We won’t force it that way. Whoever is performing best will play and there is no rush.
“The only thing for us, it’s three to four months of learning everything we do, just like the others have had to do. And it’s is a better period to do it now than in summer.”
Burnley have lost just two of their 33 games under Kompany this season – one in the league cup against Manchester United – and are sitting 17 points ahead of the non-promotion spots at the top of the Championship table.
Foster completed a permanent transfer from Belgian side K.V.C. Westerlo in January, which is believed to be a new South African record transfer.
