Burnley forward's future becomes clearer amid previous Aston Villa, Newcastle United transfer interest | OneFootball

The South African is said to be keen on staying at Turf Moor following relegation

Lyle Foster is said to be open to staying with Burnley following relegation back to the Championship.

That's according to South African news outlet, SNL24's sports segment - Soccer Laduma - who have revealed the latest on the centre-forward's future at Turf Moor after previous interest from a quartet of Premier League clubs was revealed last month.

Burnley are preparing for their second season in the second tier in three years after a dismal relegation from the Premier League, which ended in Vincent Kompany's shock move to replace Thomas Tuchel as Bayern Munich head coach.

However, after weeks of being left in the unknown, all connected with the club can now focus at the task in hand, which is automatic promotion back to the top flight.

And that task will also be boosted by the appointment of Scott Parker, with the former England midfielder a seasoned promotion winner through spells in the Fulham and AFC Bournemouth dugout.

Those prospects will be enhanced further by this recent development that 23-year-old Foster could be staying in East Lancashire for yet another season.

Referring back to the latest update from SNL24 (Soccer Laduma), which states that sources close to the publication believe that Foster is open to staying with Burnley, despite their relegation, which was confirmed in early May, alongside the other duo of promoted clubs in the form of Luton Town and Sheffield United.

This comes just weeks after the same outlet revealed that a quartet of top flight sides had inquired over the possibility of acquiring the South African's services in January, in the form of Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Brentford and Nottingham Forest.

That came at a time when Foster enjoyed a rich vein of personal form despite the Clarets' overall inconsistencies, just weeks after returning to the side after a well-documented absence through mental health issues.

It was believed that Kompany's departure and the club's relegation put Foster in a "complicated situation", but a stance on his future has potentially been clarified following the appointment of the aforementioned Parker.

It also remains to be seen whether any of the four aforementioned clubs would rekindle their interest in the striker, after scoring just one goal in the calendar year of 2024 so far.

Burnley's achievements under Kompany two seasons ago were well-documented, with the Belgian utilising his knowledge of the Jupiler Pro League to great effect with acquisitions such as Manuel Benson, who was a star performer as the club romped to the title with an astounding points tally of 101.

Despite only joining from KVC Westerlo in January 2023, Foster was able to make his own contributions to that success, featuring 11 times - mainly as a substitute due to strong competition at the time through the experienced Jay Rodriguez and Ashley Barnes - with his solitary strike coming in a 3-0 home win in a Lancashire Derby against Wigan Athletic.

Scott Parker could unleash Lyle Foster next season for Burnley

After his well-documented struggles at times since moving to England, Parker will be hoping to unleash Foster as a potent scorer next season if he remains a Claret.

Having signed a new deal last October, a hefty fee would no doubt need to be summoned if the 23-year-old was to leave, but given the former Spurs midfielder's record at this level with forwards such as Aleksander Mitrovic and Dominic Solanke, leaving the Turf Moor faithful dreaming of Foster emulating such goalscoring form throughout the campaign.

It's clear that Parker has identified that the striking department still needs adding to, as Burnley have recently been linked with a potential swoop for Benin international, Andreas Hountondji, who scored 14 times in 34 Ligue 2 appearances for SM Caen last term.

If the club were able to strike a deal for the potent striker, then it adds significant firepower to what the 43-year-old already inherits, but if Foster is open to stay and does so, he could prove to be a key asset in the club's promotion bid.