Manchester United and Chelsea are among the Premier League clubs to have sent scouts to watch KAA Gent starlet Gift Orban.
Gift Orban, 19, only moved to KAA Gent from Norwegian club Stabaek in January and quickly become a scoring sensation in Belgium, netting 19 goals in 19 games across all competitions. The highly-rated youngster played for Gent in both legs of their UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final defeat by West Ham in April.
The Nigerian striker averages a goal every 75 minutes in his breakthrough campaign in Belgium, thereby, attracting big-name interest. Chelsea and Tottenham are reportedly keeping tabs on Orban, while there is also interest from Fulham. Manchester United may well be leading the race for his signature, having scouted the striker when he scored a hat-trick against Cercle Brugge.
However, Gent do not need to sell one of their valuable assets and a player they only signed during the back end of the January transfer window.
Manchester United expected to splash big on a striker
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag wants to sign a prolific striker in the summer in a bid to reinforce his team’s attacking unit next season. The club are expected to pursue either Tottenham’s talisman Harry Kane or Napoli star Victor Osimhen, although their takeover remains at the mid-way point.
Both Tottenham and Napoli are known for being notorious negotiators and have valued Kane and Osimhen respectively over €100million, and thus, Man United have been forced to keep back-up striker options ready.
Gift Orban on the radar of Man United
Erik ten Hag faces a big second season at Old Trafford, where the expectation from the fans will be to see the team close down the gap to the likes of Man City and Arsenal. For that, the United boss will need resources to continue his squad rebuild.
A lot will depend on whether Man United have a new owner in place before the start of the summer transfer window. Otherwise, there could be a limited budget to spend for Ten Hag this summer. If he fails to land a marquee striker, the Red Devils will have to bring in a striker of a younger profile with enormous potential. And Gift Orban, in that regard, fits the bill.
Orban has proved to be a revelation since joining Gent in January, scoring goals at an alarming rate. His goals and overall contribution have ensured that Gent will play in Europe again next season. The Nigerian is a talented striker and will be a good fit in Ten Hag’s system, although normally he could take time to adapt to the Premier League.
Considering his scoring rate at Gent and vast potential, United must not hesitate to take a punt on him. However, the Belgian club would want a huge fee to sell Orban due to his lengthy contract until 2027.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
