South Africa international Lyle Foster's Championship side Burnley FC have confirmed Scott Parker as their new head coach ahead of the 2024/25 season.
The position fell vacant after Vincent Kompany was snapped by Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich a couple of weeks ago.
The Manchester City legend was the one who engineered the 23-year-old's move from the Jupiler Pro League outfit Westerlo to England during the winter transfer window in the 2022/23 campaign. At that time, the Clarets were playing in the Championship; Foster played 11 games in the English second tier and scored a goal to help his team gain promotion to the Premier League.
The South African played 24 games in the league, scoring five goals and providing three goals in the process.
Kompany deserts Foster, Parker takes over
Despite his failure to keep Burnley in the Premier League, the Bavarians were convinced Kompany has what it takes to succeed Thomas Tuchel after struggling to win silverware in the concluded campaign.
There were rumours that Foster might join Burnley, but nothing has been justified. It means the forward might be under the former Tottenham Hotspur player, who is happy to have been given a chance at the club.
“I'm really pleased to be here! I have been speaking with Burnley for some time now which has been a positive thing as I’ve now got a real feel for the people around the club,” Parker said as quoted by the club's website.
“To be around the training ground now you start to get that feeling again and I can’t wait to get on the training field and start work. For us to be successful this year is the most important thing. We have to win and build a team the fans and club can be proud of. This team can represent every single one of them in that aspect and that’s the aim.”
Will Foster remain at Burnley?
Foster has what it takes to play for any top side and there have been suggestions he should consider leaving Burnley.
However, in a recent interview, Bafana legend Lucas Radebe argued the versatile attacker can still thrive in the Championship.
“For me, [relegation] is not a failure; going down is not a failure because there is still a lot of competition in the Championship,” he stated.
“It will show his character. Obviously, he has to make it himself and he has to make other teams want him. There are opportunities out there, whether you are playing at the lowest or highest level.
“He will still be an asset for the national team because he will still be playing football at the highest level, for both country and club. He has done so well and there will always be teams looking for players like that. Surely, he will get his chance to play longer, maybe in the Premier League or somewhere else”
Bafana coach Hugo Broos is set to heavily rely on the striker ahead of the forthcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and the ongoing 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
