It then became apparent that Patulea's former club, Petrolul Ploieşti, held his registration and his switch to Sincil Bank looked to be over when his parent club demanded a large fee from City.
Foster returned to Lincoln in December, and a month later was told by the club that he was free to find another club after being deemed surplus to requirements at Sincil Bank.
On 22 March 2001 he became Alan Buckley's first signing for Lincoln City when the Sincil Bank based club agreed to take over his contract until the end of the season.
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On 10 May 2002, he along with Dene Cropper became Lincoln City manager Keith Alexander's first signings of his second spell in charge at Sincil Bank.