Tottenham consider record-breaking move for Kane replacement as asking price for Fulham target becomes crystal clear

If Tottenham Hotspur want to sign Gift Orban to be their successor to Harry Kane, the transfer fee they pay could break a record, according to a report.

Fulham have also been linked with Orban as a replacement for Aleksandar Mitrovic, but Tottenham have even more funds at their disposal after the club-record departure of Kane to Bayern Munich.

And if Orban is to leave Gent this summer, it will be his current club’s record sale too. Not only that, but he will become the most expensive export ever from the Belgian league, according to Football Insider.

Indeed, Gent are asking for a fee between £30m and £40m to let Orban leave in the same calendar year they signed him from Stabaek. Ideally, they want the fee to surpass the £31.1m that Club Brugge received from AC Milan for Charles De Ketelaere last summer.

However, the idea that Tottenham, Fulham or rival suitors Lille would be willing to meet the asking price for Orban has so far been met only with scepticism.

Although Orban has scored 26 goals from the same number of appearances for Gent, including the fastest ever hat-trick in a UEFA club competition, he is still only 21 years old and is yet to make his debut at international level for Nigeria, so is not necessarily wholly proven.

But with time running out in the transfer window, someone could feasibly take a punt on him if they still have a void to fill. Over time, if he can keep up his current form, it might be an investment worth making.

If Orban stays at Gent, he will be part of a squad that is competing for a place in this season’s Europa Conference League group stage. Neither Tottenham nor Fulham would be able to offer involvement in a UEFA competition this season.

However, playing in the Premier League might have its own appeal and does seem like a step that Orban could be capable of taking at some stage soon.

Gent have a strong hand in negotiations, though, and will refer back to the fees Spurs and Fulham have received by selling their respective strikers this summer when justifying their demands for Orban.

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