Manchester United were reportedly among the clubs to express interest in signing €30 million-rated Gent striker Gift Orban, who missed out on a summer move to Tottenham this past summer.
That’s according to a report from Het Laatste Nieuws (via Sport Witness), which reveals that Tottenham Hotspur scouts were convinced that Gift Orban was a great investment for the north London outfit but were “scared off” the idea of signing him due to the hefty €30 million price tag slapped on his proverbial head by Gent.
When Bayern Munich splashed the cash to secure the services of Harry Kane this past summer, it marked the end of an era at Tottenham as they lost a legendary striker. Having spearheaded the Spurs attack exceptionally for almost a decade, the 30-year-old departed his boyhood club as their all-time top scorer with a whopping 280 goals.
As soon as it became clear that Kane was heading to Munich, a raft of replacement signings were linked with the club. Gent’s Gift Orban appeared to be a more concrete target than the others on the Lilywhites radar.
Several reputed outlets reported that the Nigerian striker is at the top of Tottenham’s list of targets in the out-and-out striker position. That didn’t prove to be the case, however, with the Nigerian hotshot remaining with the Belgian club beyond the summer transfer deadline.
It’s now been reported that Spurs recruitment team were actually “convinced” the deadly front-man would prove an excellent signing for the future. However, Gent’s lofty €30 million valuation cooled Tottenham’s pursuit.
Instead, Tottenham struck a deal worth £47.5 million with Nottingham Forest for Brennan Johnson. As such, the centre-forward role is now expected to be filled by either Richarlison or Son Heung-min for this season at least.
Gent’s chief executive, Michel Louwagie, later came out to publicly slam Tottenham for Orban’s failed move, questioning why Belgian sides aren’t able to command big transfer fees for talented players whereas clubs such as Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie have sold their stars for astronomical amounts.
While there’s no denying Orban’s goal-scoring rate is astounding on paper, it is worth noting that his exploits have come in a much inferior league, which raises the valid question of whether he can maintain his goal-scoring ability in the much tougher Premier League.
Registering an incredible 20 goals in 22 games last season, Orban has continued his fine form this term and has six goals in nine games to his name in 2023/24. If indeed he continues to ripple the net with the same consistency between now and January, he will remain high up on the agenda for Ange Postecoglou’s side come the winter transfer window.
This time, though, Orban will not be short of potential suitors. Indeed, aside from Spurs, it’s noted Premier League rivals Manchester United have registered an interest in landing the prolific Nigerian’s signature, having also sent scouts to watch the forward in action over the summer.
With Anthony Martial continually struggling for form and fitness, it is seemingly not out of the question that Rasmus Hojlund could be followed by another forward to Old Trafford in the upcoming transfer window, given Erik Ten Hag’s original plan was to bring in two senior strikers last summer before being forced to make budget cuts due to Financial Fair Play restrictions.
