Gift Orban

Gift Orban
Personal information
Full name Gift Emmanuel Orban
Date of birth (2002-07-17) 17 July 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Benue State, Nigeria
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Lyon
Number 9
Youth career
–2021 Bison
2021–2022 Stabæk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Stabæk 22 (16)
2023–2024 Gent 33 (18)
2024– Lyon 16 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:25, 22 September 2024 (UTC)

Gift Emmanuel Orban (born 17 July 2002) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for French Ligue 1 club Lyon.

Career

Stabæk

In November 2021, he was scouted by Stabæk's Torgeir Bjarmann and Thomas Finstad in Nigeria during a showcase tournament.[1] He trained with Stabæk during the winter of 2021/2022 before returning after his visa expired.[2] Returning to Norway, he signed for Stabæk in late May 2022. The transfer from Nigerian club Bison was a loan with an option to buy.[3][4]

He scored his first goals in cup matches against semi-professional teams Notodden and Gjøvik-Lyn (twice).[5] After this he became a starting player for Stabæk. His goal against SK Brann was compared to Alanzinho's time at Stabæk.[6] VG also called him a "striker jewel".[7]

When Stabæk sold Oliver Valaker Edvardsen in July, the club announced they would spend the money on Orban's buyout option.[8] The contract tying Orban to Stabæk until the end of 2026 was announced on 3 August.[9] He became the top scorer in the 2022 Norwegian First Division with 16 goals, alongside Bård Finne.[10] Helping Stabæk win promotion to 2023 Eliteserien, Orban was also named Young Player of the Year in the First Division.[11][12]

Gent

On 31 January 2023, Orban joined Belgian Pro League side Gent on a permanent deal.[13] On 11 February, Orban scored two goals on his Pro League debut in a 3–3 draw with Westerlo.[14] On 12 March, Orban managed to score four goals in a 6–2 away win over Zulte Waregem, which made him the first Gent player to do so in the 21st century. All the goals came in the second-half.[15][16] In his very next game on 15 March, he scored a first-half hat-trick in 4–1 away win over İstanbul Başakşehir in the UEFA Europa Conference League round 16. The hat-trick was scored within three minutes and 25 seconds, setting a new record for the fastest hat-trick in UEFA club competitions, breaking the previous record of six minutes and 12 seconds held by Mohammed Salah in the Champions League.[17] In the 2023–24 Europa Conference League campaign of KAA Gent, Orban scored another European hat-trick, this time against Pogoń Szczecin in the first leg of the third qualification round, resulting in a 5–0 win for Gent.[18]

Lyon

On 18 January 2024, Orban signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Ligue 1 side Lyon, for a transfer fee of €12 million, which could rise to €20 million with add-ons, and a 20% sell-on clause.[19][20] Orban had a slow start in his first season at Lyon, scoring only one league goal in 13 appearances. He did score twice in the Coupe de France in three games as Lyon made the 2024 Coupe de France final – however, Orban was unused substitute in the final. At the end of the season, Orban admitted that it had been "difficult to settle in".[21]

On his first appearance in the 2024–25 season, Orban came off the bench with his side 3–2 down against Strasbourg and scored twice in nine minutes to win the game for Lyon.[22]

Personal life

Born in Benue State, Nigeria,[23] Orban is of Togolese descent through his mother.[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 7 November 2024[25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stabæk 2022 Norwegian First Division 22 16 2 3 — 24 19
Gent 2022–23 Belgian Pro League 16 15 — 6[b] 5 22 20
2023–24 Belgian Pro League 17 3 3 0 10[b] 9 30 12
Total 33 18 3 0 16 14 52 32
Lyon 2023–24 Ligue 1 13 1 3 2 — 16 3
2024–25 Ligue 1 3 2 0 0 2[c] 0 5 2
Total 16 3 3 4 1 0 21 5
Career total 71 37 8 5 18 14 97 56
  1. ^ Includes Norwegian Cup, Belgian Cup, Coupe de France
  2. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Lyon

Individual

References

  1. ^ "'Special Gift' - striker Orban's Premier League dream" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  2. ^ "Stabæk-spiller Gift (19): – Fotballen er min mulighet". Budstikka (in Norwegian). 7 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  3. ^ Stormoen, Stein-Erik (20 May 2022). "Stabæks spissgave til fansen: Gift på plass" (in Norwegian). Eurosport. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Tottenham considering signing 'incredible' 21-year-old striker who broke Mo Salah's record last season". The Boot Room. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  5. ^ Strømnes, André (29 June 2022). "Denne spissen bøtter innpå med mål". Budstikka (in Norwegian). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  6. ^ Korsnes, Oscar (10 July 2022). "Stabæks nye juvel scoret igjen: – Han er en gave" (in Norwegian). Eurosport. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  7. ^ Brandsnes, Håkon (10 July 2022). "Stabæks nye spissjuvel stjal showet da Branns rekordrekke ble brutt". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  8. ^ Aspelund, Anders Rødaas (17 July 2022). "Selger Edvardsen – erstatteren er allerede i klubben". Budstikka (in Norwegian). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  9. ^ Boge-Fredriksen, Hans Christian (3 August 2022). "Gift Orban forlenger med Stabæk". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  10. ^ a b "OBOS-ligaen 2022 - Toppscorer, gule og røde kort" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Football Federation. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  11. ^ a b Steien, Vegard Kjøllmoen (29 October 2022). "Toppscoreren kåret til årets unge spiller: – Han har vært redningen" (in Norwegian). Eurosport. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  12. ^ Obisesan, Joseph (29 July 2023). "Orban Makes Transfer Plea". Latest football news in Nigeria. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  13. ^ "WELCOMEGIFT!" (in Dutch). K.A.A. Gent. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  14. ^ "VIDEO: Gift Orban scores two on his debut including an iconic goal to help Gent draw at Westerlo". SportsRation. 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  15. ^ ""Een killer die uit het niets kan scoren": Gift Orban kent strafste start in België sinds eeuwwisseling". sporza.be (in Dutch). 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Gift Orban scores Four as Gent record 6-2 win over Zulte Waregem". brila.net. 13 March 2023.
  17. ^ UEFA.com (16 March 2023). "Orban scores fastest ever UEFA club competition hat-trick | UEFA Europa Conference League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  18. ^ "AA Gent rolt Pogon Szczecin al voor de rust op en kan met 5-0 voorsprong naar Polen". De Morgen (in Dutch). 9 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Transferts : Gift Orban signe à l'OL jusqu'en 2028" [Transfers: Gift Orban signs with OL until 2028] (in French). L'Équipe. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  20. ^ "L'ATTAQUANT NIGÉRIAN GIFT ORBAN REJOINT L'OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS JUSQU'EN 2028" [NIGERIAN STRIKER GIFT ORBAN JOINS OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS UNTIL 2028] (in French). Lyon. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  21. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Gift Orban looks beyond Arsenal defeat, admits to 'difficult' start at Lyon". Flashscore. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Orban brace gifts Lyon thrilling comeback victory". FTBL. 31 August 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  23. ^ Lennox, Joe (28 June 2023). "Gift Orban Childhood Story Plus Untold Biography Facts". LifeBogger. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Olympic Eagles coach insists it's not the end of the world, reacts to Gift Orban no-show:: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com.
  25. ^ Gift Orban at Soccerway
  26. ^ "PSG beat Lyon 2-1 to win French Cup final in Mbappe's farewell appearance". Reuters. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.