Gent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck insists Gift Orban will not ‘regret’ his failure to secure a big-money move to Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur during the summer transfer window.
Ange Postecoglou has spoken openly about the need to share the goals out at Spurs this season following the departure of talismanic top-scorer Harry Kane.
With six different players hitting the target so far under the former Celtic boss, Postecoglou’s prayers have been answered too; contributions from James Maddison, Christian Romero, Pape Matar Sarr and Heung-Min Son (hat-trick hero against Burnley) offsetting both the loss of Kane and Tottenham’s inability to bring in a like-for-like replacement.
Gift Orban, Genk’s Nigerian ‘phenomenon’, was one of a number of centre-forwards under consideration before the window closed. According to VoetbalKrant, however, Spurs came to the conclusion that £25 million was simply too much for a still-unproven 21-year-old who was plying his trade in Norway as recently as ten months ago.
They eventually splashed out to bring in Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest on deadline day instead.
Tottenham Hotspur called off Gift Orban deal
As far as Vanhaezebrouck is concerned, however, another season of regular first-team football at Gent is far from the end of the world for Orban.
“Will he regret staying? No, he will certainly get many more opportunities to play,” the veteran coach says, via Score Nigeria.
Orban has scored a remarkable 26 goals in 31 games since joining Gent in January. A move to Spurs, however, may have seen the former Stabaek whizzkid handed a back-up role initially, behind Richarlison and a revitalised Son.
The risk, of course, is that Tottenham may have to part with a damn sight more than £25 million if Orban continues to find the net at such a machine-gun rate.
“(Orban) is a phenomenon,” Vanhaezebrouck beamed following the youngster’s European hat-trick against Pogon Szczencin in August. “And he will continue to be a phenomenon. 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. His hat-trick? That is nothing special in itself anymore, is it?”
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