Official: Houston Dynamo Loan Burnley Forward Foster for One Season, Deal Includes Purchase Option

MLS club Houston Dynamo officially announced that they have signed South Africa international forward Lyle Foster on loan, with the loan period running until June 2027 and a purchase option included in the contract.

Houston Dynamo sporting director Pat Onstad said: "Lyle's arrival gives our attack a strong and highly mobile forward. He can use his speed and movement to threaten the space behind opponents' defenses, while also possessing good link-up ability. Without the ball, he can maintain the active running and intensity that we demand. He has Premier League and international experience, which will further strengthen the team. We are very excited to welcome him and hope to achieve ideal results in the latter part of the season."

Foster previously played for Burnley for four seasons, making 89 league appearances and scoring 11 goals across competitions, with matches spanning the Premier League and the English Football Championship.

The 25-year-old Foster helped Burnley earn promotion to the Premier League twice. In the 2022-23 season, he won the Championship title with the club and secured promotion; in the 2024-25 season, Burnley finished second in the Championship and gained direct promotion to the Premier League.

In the 2025-26 season, Foster made 26 Premier League appearances for Burnley, scoring three goals and providing two assists. He scored an equalizer against Manchester United at Old Trafford, netted a 95th-minute winning goal away against Wolves, and also scored against Tottenham Hotspur.

Foster joined Burnley from Belgian club Westerlo in January 2023 and helped the team win the Championship title and earn promotion to the Premier League in his first season after the move. During his time at Westerlo, he made 44 league appearances and scored 12 goals, including eight goals in 21 appearances in the Belgian top flight during the first half of the 2022-23 season.

Before joining Westerlo, Foster also helped his team win the Belgian second-tier league title and gain promotion after the 2021-22 season.

Foster began his professional career at South African giants Orlando Pirates, developing through the club's youth system before making his senior team debut.

In January 2019, Foster moved to Europe and joined Ligue 1 club Monaco. He later played for Belgian club Cercle Brugge and Portuguese club Vitória Guimarães before joining Westerlo.

At international level, Foster has represented South Africa 33 times and scored 11 goals since making his national team debut in 2018.

During the 2026 World Cup, Foster was selected for South Africa's squad and started in the group-stage opener against hosts Mexico. South Africa eventually advanced to the knockout stage, marking the first time in the country's football history that it had progressed beyond the World Cup group stage.

In addition, Foster participated in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, scoring two goals during the tournament and helping South Africa reach the round of 16.

During the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Foster also played an important role. He scored in matches against Benin and Lesotho, helping South Africa secure qualification for the World Cup. This marked South Africa's first return to the World Cup finals since participating as hosts in 2010.

Currently, Houston Dynamo rank second in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer, with 12 wins, 7 losses, and 3 draws from 22 matches, earning 39 points and setting the club's highest-ever points total after 22 rounds.

In their past 16 matches, Houston Dynamo have recorded 10 wins, 3 losses, and 3 draws, earning 33 points. Notably, the team recently kept five consecutive clean sheets, matching the league record, while going 485 minutes without conceding, which is also their second-longest streak of clean sheets in the past 10 years.