Hidden Gems FC: How Gift Orban emerged from extreme poverty to become a European goal machine

Orban was raised in the Nigerian state of Benue by his father while his mother resided in Togo, and began playing football while surrounded by sights no child should have to witness.

"I am a child of the streets," he told Sporza during his time playing in Belgium for Gent. "I started playing football as a little boy in the suburbs of Lagos. People were being hurt, under the influence of alcohol and drugs... I recently was in Brussels with a friend for a few days. When we returned to our car, it had been completely ransacked. Money, bank cards, passport... My friend was terrified, but me? I used to experience things like that every day."

Orban is fuelled by the difficulties he faced while young, and is perhaps still haunted by them, though he is keen to make a difference in ensuring others don't have to go through similar circumstances.

"It was very hard and I'd rather not talk about it. My problems, I can't explain them to you," he told L'Equipe. "You won't understand, because you were born in Europe. If you're poor in France, the state can help you, there are foundations and charities. In Africa, no one gives you anything and you starve to death. That's why we all want to play football.

“In Benue, if your family has no money, life is impossible. That's what fuels me. I never want to experience that again. We had to find our own food, every day. Now I want to help all poor people, orphans, anyone who has a life like mine or even harder."

"Do you know what poverty is?" he added. "Poverty in Europe and Africa, it's not even comparable. You sleep in certain places, it's unbearable. Then you wake up and there's nothing to eat."

Orban's forthright attitude is something he embraces - "I say what I think, I am sincere. People who don't know me think I'm weird, but if you approach me, you'll see that I'm very respectful." - though it has got him into trouble on occasion, most notably during his time with Hellas Verona in Serie A this season.

After putting his struggling side 2-0 up away at defending champions Napoli in January, Orban ran to a stand full of home supporters and fired an imaginary gun into the air before cutting his own throat using his finger. His over-the-top celebration earned him a yellow card, and those Napoli fans would have the last laugh as their side fought back to earn a 2-2 draw.

Six weeks later, Orban would receive an even harsher punishment when he was sent off after just 11 minutes against Parma for verbally abusing a referee, for which he also received a two-match suspension.

Despite those indiscretions, Orban has again showcased his goal-scoring instincts since arriving in Italy on a season-long loan from Hoffenheim, with his seven goals by far the most scored by anyone within the Verona squad as they battle to avoid relegation. Goal-scoring has always been Orban's currency of choice, though he was reluctant to join a club or academy growing up.

"As a child, I played on the beach all the time," he recalled. "In the sand, you don't just play football, you develop all your muscles... I didn't go to a football academy until I was about 13. I needed my freedom. On the street, I could do my own thing, whereas at an academy, they shout at you."

On his father's advice, Orban eventually Bison FC, with whom he played in tournaments attended by scouts from European clubs. It was there he was spotted by representatives of Norwegian club Stabaek, who appreciated the striker's speed and strength. However, after attending a trial in Scandinavia, they initially decided against signing Orban.

It was only when Stabaek suffered an injury crisis up front that they changed their mind and Orban was invited back to sign his first professional contract. He did not, however, take to life in a foreign land all that well.

"The coach put me in and I scored a brace right away," he described. "I did the same in the next game. Then I was on a roll. But I have to admit, life was difficult there.

"For the first time, I experienced temperatures around and below zero degrees. And the Norwegian language... Blah, blah, blah. It hurt my ears! I really didn't like that country. In my head, I had already decided that I would try my hardest to take the next step. I simply couldn't stay there."

Orban set about getting himself out of Norway by scoring 19 goals and providing a further seven assists in just 24 games for Stabaek, and his form quickly caught the eye of Gent's head of scouting, Samuel Cardenas. He, however, needed to do plenty of convincing before the Belgian side would sanction a €4.5 million transfer, marking the second-highest amount they had ever paid for a player.

Any doubts over whether Orban was worth the money or effort were quickly dismissed. He scored 20 goals in his first 22 appearances for Gent, including five hat-tricks, one of which proved to be the fastest-ever treble scored in European competition when he netted three times in the space of 205 seconds against Istanbul Basaksehir in the Conference League.

Comparisons were naturally made to Erling Haaland, while Tottenham were linked with a move for the speedy forward before they instead opted for Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest.

Orban's hot streak couldn't, however, continue forever and he struggled through the first half of the 2023-24 season, scoring just three times in 17 Jupiler League appearances as he began to benched more regularly by coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck.

"It's not easy for him," Vanhaezebrouck said of his star striker. "Last year, he was the hero and everything he touched turned to gold. Now he's experiencing the other side of the coin, but that can only make him stronger for the future."

Orban, however, was keen to move on, and in January 2024 he joined Lyon for a €14m fee that likely would have been at least doubled had he left Gent six months earlier. He only lasted a year in France, though, as he struggled to displace club legend Alexandre Lacazette in the Lyon line up, and he subsequently joined Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.

The striker made a fast start to life in Germany, netting four times in his first seven appearances, but he was unable to maintain that pace and was again benched by the end of the campaign as Hoffenheim  narrowly avoided relegation. A loan move to Verona was then agreed upon last summer as Orban again found himself in a new country for the 2025-26 campaign.

With 11 games of the Serie A and having won just twice all campaign, Verona are nine points from safety and staring relegation to the second tier in the face. They are unlikely, then, to activate the €8m option in Orban's loan agreement. Hoffenheim, meanwhile, are well positioned to earn Champions League qualification and thus are unlikely to have a role for Orban next season given the performances of their current squad.

Yet another transfer is likely to be on the cards for the Nigerian frontman - who has scored 67 goals in 133 senior appearances over the course of his career - and he has made no secret of where he would want to end up - and where he wouldn't - given the choice.

"My ultimate dream is to play in the Premier League" he revealed. "Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City. I'm not so keen on Arsenal, though. It's as if they don't want to win titles! I want to go somewhere where they do."