Cercle Brugge 0-4 Gent: Belgium is under the spell of Gift Orban. The Nigerian striker strings the goals together at AA Gent. Orban was picked up in Norway last winter and has been shooting in one after another ever since. There is only one who scores even more in Europe: one Erling Haaland.
The Nigerian is only bettered by Haaland in terms of goals
Orban was born in Togo, but it soon became clear what kind of footballing qualities he has. FC Bison from Nigeria picked him up, where he played in the youth for years. The striker also took Nigerian nationality. At a showcase tournament in Nigeria, Orban was discovered by the Norwegian Stabaek. The club loaned him with an option to buy.
That turned out to be a resounding success. As a teenager, Orban scored no less than eighteen goals in 23 games, so Stabaek quickly lifted the option. He helped his club to be promoted to the top tier and was named the best young player of the Norwegian Second Division. Last winter, Ghent took the plunge by paying more than three million euros for the attacker.
He had only trained three times and his trainer Hein Vanhaezebrouck had seen enough. The following Saturday, he pitched Orban directly to the Lions. His debut against Westerlo was one not to forget. Orban immediately scored twice. Once with a half bicycle kick and once with a nice volley.
Haaland on his heels
He cheerfully continued that line in the months that followed. He was also of great importance against Cercle Brugge last Saturday in the battle for European football. Partly due to a hat-trick by Orban, Gent won 4-0 against the competitor. That means that the twenty-year-old striker has now played nineteen games and also made nineteen. Since Orban made his debut, only one player has scored more goals in Europe: Haaland. He made 21.
His coach Vanhaezenbrouck calls Orban ‘a phenomenon’ and a range of top clubs now have the Nigerian on their scouting list. According to Het Laatste Nieuws, scouts from Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica and LOSC Lille were in the stands on Saturday. They all saw Orban score three times. The big question is whether he will also play in Belgium next season or whether the Belgians will enjoy half a year.
