Burnley FC head coach Scott Parker appears to have made decisions regarding the future of Bafana Bafana star Lyle Foster and several of his teammates following the club’s promotion to the English Premier League.
The Clarets secured a return to the top flight after winning the Championship in the 2024/25 season. Their promotion was confirmed with a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United, with two games still remaining.
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With expectations rising ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, reports have suggested that Burnley may look to reshape their squad, potentially offloading some players to make room for more experienced signings.
Amongst the speculation is that South African forward Lyle Foster could be loaned out or even released to open up space in the squad.
However, Parker has insisted that he has no plans to let go of the Orlando Pirates academy product and some of the players, more especially after helping the club get promoted.
"They deserve that [to be retained], this core group, I have absolutely nothing but admiration for them, a real appreciation," Parker said, per Burnley Express.
"I'm proud too, proud more than I could ever be of every single one of them.
"I often reference that I've got four sons of my own. But probably every single one of these [players], I look them in the eye and feel that proud feeling you get, that's exactly how I feel now," he added.
"We've got a challenge next year, that's very, very clear. But it will be a challenge that we are absolutely relishing. We're going into the big league and that's exactly where we all want to be and we'll relish every opportunity of that."
However, Parker has also confirmed that he aims to bolster his squad with new players.
"We'd like to be, of course. We'll be searching, we'll be in the market," said the English manager.
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"At the same time, we've got an incredible squad here that has absolutely given me and this football club absolutely everything.
"We'll try and be clever, we'll try and improve where we can improve, but again, we probably won't really have a clear idea until we actually know what the market is and where the market is for everything."
