Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League • England
Tottenham stunned by price tag of ideal Harry Kane replacement after ‘initiating contact’ with club
Tottenham linked Gent striker Gift Orban
Tottenham have reportedly ‘made contact’ with Gent over signing striker Gift Orban, but could be put off making an offer due to his price tag.
Ange Postecoglou is currently searching for a replacement for Spurs’ record goal scorer Harry Kane, who joined Bayern Munich for £100m last week.
A number of targets are being considered by the Tottenham hierarchy, but whoever comes in will have huge boots to fill. Kane netted 30 Premier League goals last season and the London club still only managed to finish eighth.
As reported by TEAMtalk, Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is being considered as a potential option, as well as Montpellier star Elye Wahi.
Orban is another player who has been heavily linked with Spurs, though, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them make a bid for him.
The 21-year-old has already scored five goals in four games for Gent this season. He also netted 20 times in 22 outings last season, so there is no doubting his goalscoring ability.
It’s thought that Orban would be open to joining Tottenham this summer. The only thing left for Spurs to agree, therefore, is a transfer fee with Genk.
Gent slap big price tag on Orban
According to reports coming out of Belgium (via Sport Witness), Tottenham have already ‘initiated contact’ with Gent over signing Orban and the talks are ‘progressing’ smoothly.
However, the Belgian club will not let their star striker leave on the cheap.
It’s claimed that Gent are demanding a fee in excess of €30m (approx. £25.8m) for Orban. The report claims this is ‘too expensive’ for Spurs who will try to negotiate a lower figure.
The player’s agent, Mogi Bayat, has allegedly been ‘called in to help find a solution’ for the Nigerian, who, as mentioned, is keen on a move to the Premier League.
One person who expects Orban to move clubs this summer is Gent manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck.
In a recent interview, Vanhaezebrouck said: “Is it impossible to keep Orban? No, it’s not impossible. He doesn’t have to leave and maybe he will stay. But I can’t project myself into the future.
“To say that we will go far if we keep Gift on board is not realistic. Our next opponent, Westerlo, has already bought for 13.5 million euros this summer. Ghent for 5 million. Westerlo has sold for 0 million, we sold for 12 million. That says it all. The landscape of football is changing.”
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Tottenham make their first concrete offer for Orban in the next few days.