View: Gift Orban would be an exciting replacement for Harry Kane at Tottenham
Whoever comes in to replace Harry Kane at Tottenham, supporters are going to need to offer them support and patience as they look to adapt.
Spurs now find themselves in a very difficult scenario whereby any player who takes on the role of their next number nine will not appear good enough.
Kane has broken through Spurs’ academy, given the best years of his career to the club, become their all-time top goalscorer as well as England’s greatest goalscorer and broken countless other records, it is a near impossible act to follow.
Not only is he a brilliant player but he is one of the fans’ own and adored in North London. While he has not yet left, he recently celebrated his 30th birthday and is set to enter the final year of his contract.
Whether or not he makes the switch to the Bundesliga and Bayern Munich this summer, it is looking increasingly likely he will be gone this time next year and Daniel Levy and the board need to begin turning their attention to the future.
While an established striker who could quickly replace the England captain and create a connection with the fans is probably the most sensible idea, one young prospect has been recently linked with the club and could be a very exciting alternative to a proven European talisman.
According to Simon Jones, writing in The Mail Plus’ Transfer Confidential (31 July), Gent striker Gift Orban is under consideration by those at Hotspur Way.
Although he is still young and relatively unproven at the highest level of European football, his stats in the Belgian Pro League and UEFA Europa Conference League suggest he would be a fascinating addition and someone worth taking a gamble on.
Belgium’s top division recently got underway again for the 2023/24 season and Gent were victorious during their opening fixture, with Orban’s 71st-minute goal proving decisive in a 3-2 victory over Kortrijk on Sunday 30 July.
Last season was the 21-year-old’s first in Belgium and he did well, scoring nine times and providing two assists in 10 appearances in the league, at a rate of a goal every 78.9 minutes. As well as this, he scored six in six during the Jupiler Pro League Europe play-offs and performed exceptionally well in the Conference League.
His numbers in European competitions will be of most interest to Spurs as it proves that he can perform well outside of Belgium as well as in the country itself.
Orban, who only turned 21 on 17 July, scored at a remarkable rate in the continent’s third-rate competition. In six appearcnes, he found the back of the net on five occasions, which included a hattrick in the second leg of his side’s last 16 tie away at Basaksehir.
As per fbref, he scored 1.03 goals per 90 in the competition, which put him in the top one per cent of forwards in regard to this particular statistic. As well as this, he was in the top 10 per cent compared to his positional peers in the Conference League when it came to the number of shots he took (3.49 per 90) and his expected goals (0.66 per 90).
In terms of passing, Orban registered impressive stats in this department too. He was in the 91st percentile for the number of passes he completed over a long distance (2.47 per 90) and the 84th percentile for his pass completion rate over the same distance (85.7 per cent per 90).
His 0.27 expected assists per 90, which ranked him in the top five per cent of forwards in the competition, demonstrated that he is more than just a goalscorer. This was supported by the fact that he made 2.26 progressive carries per 90 and 1.85 carries into the final third, which positioned him in the top 20 per cent for both of these statistics.
While Orban is still young and not yet fully developed, his numbers suggest there is a lot to be excited about and by signing him, Spurs could look to hit the reset button and start afresh with an up-and-coming striker who possesses promising potential.
In other Tottenham News, the club’s Under-21s were taught some valuable lessons during a tricky pre-season clash.