Fast rising Nigerian striker, Gift Orban, is trending in European football and transfer related news stories for the right reasons following his latest performance in Gent's 5-star Europa Conference League qualifying match.
Gift Orban netted a hat-trick as Gent thrashed Polish club Pogon Szczecin in the first leg third qualifying round of the Europa Conference League on Wednesday night.
Tottenham Hotspur are looking to replace their talisman and all-time top scorer, Harry Kane, who is set to leave the club this summer with the 21-year old Belgian forward touted as a possible replacement for the English captain.
Credible reports coming in from David Ornstein on Thursday revealed that Bayern Munich have reached an agreement with Tottenham to sign Harry Kane.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Bayern Munich have reached an agreement with Tottenham to sign Harry Kane, sources in Germany indicate. #FCBayern proposal worth above €100m accepted by #THFC. 30yo has been leaning towards staying but must now make a decision @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/mPjC3YPDnH
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) August 10, 2023
It’s now left for the player to make the final decision in the coming hours or days after long negotiations between the German giants and the Lilywhites in the past weeks.
According to the report, Bayern's proposal is worth above €100 million and has been accepted by Tottenham Hotspur, showing yet another transfer masterstroke from Daniel Levy who at the helm of the club has overseen several high-profile sales that includes Luka Modric and Gareth Bale's transfers to Real Madrid in year's past.
Harry Kane's move to Germany now sets the stage for Gift Orban and his managers who'll be fancying their chances of doing business with Tottenham in the coming weeks.
For Orban, his rise has been a remarkable one; he was playing for Stabaek in Norway’s second tier last year before joining Gent in January.
In 25 games for the Belgian Pro League outfit, Orban has scored 25 goals and registered a further two assists to put himself in the radar of Tottenham Hotspur who are keen to rebuild their squad from the sale of Harry Kane under the watchful eyes of coach Ange Postecoglu.
Although Orban's goal records dwarfs in comparison to the numbers Harry Kane has put up over the years, two hat-tricks in Europe for a 21-year old shows enough potential the Nigerian has under his belt.
Let's look at the hat-tricks Orban scored for Gent in European competitions and the teams he got them against.
Gift Orban hat-trick against Istanbul Basaksehir
After a 1-1 draw in Belgium, Orban and his team travelled to Turkey to face Istanbul Basaksehir in the round of 16 return leg in the Europa Conference League.
Orban had shone in the first leg as he scored the only goal for Gent at home in the 1-1 stalemate, but made history in the second leg.
He scored a hat-trick in three minutes and 20 seconds, to register the fastest-ever hat-trick in UEFA club competition history.
20-year-old Gent striker Gift Orban vs. Ä°stanbul BaĹźakĹźehir in the #UECL
⚽️ 31'
⚽️ 32'
⚽️ 34'A three-minute hat-trick for the Nigerian wonderkid. ♨️ pic.twitter.com/plc9vQo1oS
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) March 15, 2023
The fastest hat-trick record was formerly held by Liverpool's Mohammed Salah which scored his in six minutes and 12 seconds. Orban and Salah's records all came in from the 2022/23 European season.
Gift Orban's goals on that day helped Gent rip through Basaksehir 1-4 (2-5 on aggregate) to reach their first European quarter-final in 31 years.
Gift Orban hat-trick against Pogon Szczecin
The high-scoring Nigerian forward bagged his second European treble in August, 2023; this time against a Polish opposition.
Orban improved his burgeoning goal reputation with another superb display on Wednesday, scoring a hat-trick as Gent netted five goals for the third Europa Conference League qualifier match in a row.
5-0 (64') | HATTRICK ORBAAAANNNN!! 5-0!! #gntpog #UECL #goal pic.twitter.com/b0Q1Nt9bt0
— KAA Gent (@KAAGent) August 9, 2023
The sought-out striker broke the deadlock in the 13th minute before doubling the advantage in the 35th minute, and finally got his third goal 19 minutes into the second half as Gent blew apart Pogoń Szczecin 5-0 in the third qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.
The win puts Gent one leg into the ECL playoffs where they'll be playing either Dila Gori or APOEL.
Next up for Gift Orban
It is yet to be seen if Orban will still be a player for Gent when they visit Pogon Szczecin for the return leg on 17 August. For now, all he can do is keep scoring as his team takes on Westerlo next Sunday in the Belgian league.
In Orban's perspective, whether it's a new club, new country, new competition — none of it really seems to faze him. It will be fascinating to see if he can also take England by storm as his move to the Premier League beckons in the coming days or weeks.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 months ago
