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By Anthony Nlebem.
Gent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck has praised Nigerian striker Gift Orban, who got off to an explosive start in Belgium after he scored a brace and caused a penalty on his debut to help Gent to a 3-3 stalemate against Westerlo.
The 20-year-old, who signed for the Belgium side during the January transfer deadline day for a reported fee of €3.5m from Norwegian club Stabaek, was very impressive, caused a penalty and scored his first goal in the 30th minute, adding the second in the 66th minute to save his side from defeat.
Speaking post-match, the 58-year-old Belgian tactician was pleased with Orban’s performance and noted that the youngster was worth the fee the club paid to sign him
“But you can use him very well in the football that I want to bring. He fills the spaces very well. He can also play under pressure. That is also the reason why I recommended him,” Vanhaezebrouck told Gent website..
“He came from the second division and was still somewhat unknown. It is now up to Gift to confirm and to show that in the next matches.”
Before he made his debut, Orban only trained thrice with his new club and revealed the discussion he had with his new teammates helped him to settle down quickly.
“With every team, I come to, I talk to the other players to discuss my qualities. We haven’t trained much yet, but I have already talked to the captain (Sven Kums).”