If wishes were horses beggars would ride, goes the old adage. Nigeria and Gent forward Gift Orban has only one wish, to score goals while helping his team to win matches. “I love to score goals…many goals and help my team to win matches,” he said while speaking on recent talks about his transfer away from Belgium. He has been linked most recently to English club Tottenham as a possible replacement for Harry Kane who left for Bayern Munich in the new season. With transfer market heading to a close on September 1, Tottenham reportedly have one more obstacle to overcome as they look to complete a deal for the potent striker before the summer transfer window shuts.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou wants another front-man on board before the deadline after losing the club’s all-time record goal-scorer Kane in an £86million deal to German leading clubBayern Munich.
Numerous names have been linked with a switch to north London since then, but one keeps popping up more than any other in the shape of Nigerian Orban.
20 GOALS
The Gent star scored 20 goals in 22 games for his side last season, adding three assists, and has carried on that rich goalscoring form at the start of the current campaign.
That has led Spurs to step up their interest in the prolific forward and journalist Dean Jones has provided on where the potential transfer is at.
Speaking to Ranks FC Ultras Podcast, Jones claims that Orban is convinced of the offer that Tottenham have made for him from a contract point of view.
All that remains now is for the two clubs to agree the terms of the fee to get the ball rolling.
Indeed, Gent boss Hein Vanhaezebrouck has acknowledged that economic considerations could compel his club to offload their prized asset, which is only adding to the talk of Orban moving to north London.
And Jones has added: “I expected progress to be made on that for Tottenham, but I’m not sure it was. That doesn’t look brilliant, but they were first on the scene and they are the most interested.
“He is convinced of the personal package they have put in front of him, so that is going to be fine, it’s just about agreeing a deal with Gent, so let’s see what happens there.”
The fact that personal terms are agreed is at least a major step forward for Tottenham, while the reported fee of around €30million (£25.6m) should not present much of a problem, given the money banked from the Kane sale.
It just remains for Daniel Levy to negotiate the best deal for the club and give Postecoglou another central striker to work with, given that Richarlison has drawn blanks in his first two Premier League outings this season.
Orban has always loved the bigger stage and there’s no reluctance about moving to the English Premiership.
He said: “Look, I love Belgium, but I want to go to a higher-ranking league. I just want to gain more experience at a higher level. My job is to play as high as possible.”
“I had a great season in Belgium and I’ve already managed to score, so that’s good. I look forward to scoring more goals wherever I am.
“I love it here (Gent), and then you have to wet your jersey every time, even if it were my last match. Every match counts.”
GREAT IMPRESSION
Orban has made a real impression during his short time in Belgium after scoring goals for fun since his January transfer
Coming to the attention of the club after doing likewise with Norwegian side Stabaek, the Nigerian ace hit the headlines across Europe back in March after his incredible hat-trick away at Istanbul Basaksehir.
Completing his treble in a remarkable three minutes and 25 seconds, which is now the fastest ever hat-trick in UEFA club competition, Orban continued to flourish for his team and finished the campaign with 20 goals and two assists from 22 games.
The 21-year-old looks destined to make the move to one of Europe’s biggest sides sooner rather than later.
TESTIMONIES
Gent boss Hein Vanhaezebrouck thinks Orban a phenomenon and would want to lose him, that is if he can, which doesn’t seem likely given the attention on him in Europe.
“He’s a phenomenon and he will continue to be a phenomenon,” stated the Gent boss. “I’ve said it five times, and I’ll keep saying it. Even if he is no longer here, he will remain a phenomenon, and I will continue to say that. He is 21 and remains a young guy.
“His hat-trick? That is nothing special in itself anymore, is it?”
“However, you cannot ignore Gift. I watched him in training scoring two or three great goals in just a few minutes. I haven’t seen that very often. It just stays that way, our mouths often fall open,” Vanhaezebrouck told Het Nieuwsblad.
“Will he surprise me? No, it’s just enjoyment, every day we watch with a smile on our face. He is an incredible weapon that everyone wants.”
Vanhaezebrouck believes Orban can easily surpass the 21 he has done last season.
“Last season he made 21, across all competitions in Norway. If you let him start the season, he is a guarantee of 20, 25 goals across all competitions. Finishing is fun for him. Right, left, he doesn’t care.”
Chelsea legend Joe Cole also has kind words for the Nigerian forward.
“He’s Two-footed, strong, powerful, fast, and aggressive with his play. His goal record of 14 in 12 is unbelievable,” said the former England international.”
“The danger when you play against young players is you have to contain them. Sometimes they don’t do things by the book and can do things off the cuff.
“They’re eager, they sometimes pressure when they shouldn’t so it can surprise you but you have to get to grips with it. I’m really excited to watch Orban.”
Head of scouting at Gent, Samuel Cardenas, said of Orban.
“He really is a top professional, and he’s really focused. He’s only been in Europe for 12 months but he eats well, he sleeps well, he knows what to do. He has his goals and he’s staying on the ground. I’ve been really impressed by it,” he told The Athletic.
“We knew that he was really competitive, but now, in person, seeing him there every day, it’s even better than expected. He’s a guy who wants to win everything. He gets off when he doesn’t win, which is good.”
“Outside of the box, tap-ins, left foot, right foot, one-touch, two-touch, headers, goals from a corner, goals after a counter… he can do everything with both feet, he can combine, assist, cross and shoot,” explained Cardenas.
“In terms of box movement, he had never been coached in it, and it’s always perfect. Now, he’s doing everything on feeling, and it’s really good. You need to think: if he had been coached, how good might he have been when he arrived?”
Sporting director Torgeir Bjarmann at Stabaek, his former club in Norway said Gift is hungry for success.
“Gift is extremely hungry for success and possesses a true winning mentality,” he told BBC. “He works hard in training every day and makes himself heard. I had high expectations of him, but he exceeded them.”
While, Gent’s chief executive Michel Louwagie called him a complete striker.
“It is possible to compare him to Jonathan David, the Canadian star whom we sold to Lille in 2020, and who is now the top scorer in Ligue 1,” Louwagie told BBC. “Gift might even be a more complete striker, because he has vision and is a good passer.”
