West Ham will be taking on Belgian side Gent in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals on Thursday, and they are well aware of the potential danger posed by one of Europe’s most promising strikers. Gift Orban was virtually unknown just two months ago, but his meteoric rise to fame has left Europe’s top clubs taking note of his impressive goalscoring record. The 20-year-old Nigerian was playing in Norway’s Second Division for Stabaek as recently as October, but since then he has scored nine goals in eight Belgian League matches and five goals in four Europa League appearances. His second-leg hat-trick against Basaksehir was what secured Gent’s place in the last eight, and now he will be looking to further enhance his reputation against the Hammers.
Orban’s remarkable journey began in November 2021, when Stabaek’s sporting director Torgeir Bjarmann made his annual trip to Nigeria for an amateur tournament. Bjarmann, who had previously been at Lyn Oslo with John Obi Mikel and signed Odion Ighalo, was immediately taken by Orban’s scoring abilities and link-up play. Despite initial doubts from the coaches, Orban was eventually given a chance in a cup fixture in June and he scored twice, remaining in the squad and never looking back. He ended up as the league’s top scorer with 16 goals in 19 matches, and added seven assists. Stabaek were then forced to accept a 3.5m euro (£3.06m) offer from Gent on the last day of the January transfer window.
Since joining Gent, Orban has gone from strength to strength, scoring twice on his debut and netting four goals in the second half in a 6-2 win at Zulte Waregem. He has proven himself to be a versatile attacker who can combine and score in every way technically, and is considered to be comparable to Jonathan David who was sold to Lille in 2020 and is now the top scorer in Ligue 1. Orban himself has expressed his dream of playing in the Premier League or Bundesliga, and the two games against West Ham could be like two job interviews for him. The Hammers have been warned.