After an impressive first leg performance from West Ham’s opposition KAA Gent in the Europa Conference League quarter-final, Joe Cole has urged the club to sign the Belgian League’s hottest prospect.
A strong Gent side dominated the majority of the match and while their defence may have been shaky, their transition play and counter attack was particularly impressive and our Hammers struggled to cope with it. On another day Gent could’ve won the game comfortably but, most importantly, West Ham have the opportunity to identify what went wrong after scraping a 1-1 draw.
The player that had been on everyone’s minds leading up to the fixture was Gift Orban. He has 11 G/A in just 8 league games this season, with the Nigerian grabbing the headlines after scoring the fastest ever UEFA club competition hat-trick in his side’s last Europa Conference League game.
Former West Ham player and now pundit Joe Cole stated on BT Sport that “He is one of those players, hunger, he means it, His movement was good. There was a couple of raw moments, he’s a 20-year-old player.” The striker has only moved to Gent this season, but there’s already talks of him getting a big move in the summer ahead.
“He’s already moved countries recently,” stated Cole. “He would be one that I would imagine, there will be scouts filling up the director’s box over there in Belgium watching him because he is an outstanding player.”
With Antonio not getting any younger and the rumours circulating that he may be coming to the end of his time in East London, it’s important that the club line up possible replacements.
Orban shares many of the same qualities that made Antonio so dangerous in previous seasons. Blistering pace, strength and a determination to win the ball are all attributes that West Ham could want in a striker. Cole urged the club to consider him, saying that: “If I was David Sullivan and David Moyes, I’d certainly be having a conversation about bringing him in. He could be almost like a perfect foil and replacement for Antonio. The sky’s the limit for this guy.” He did add the caveat that “we’ve watched him once, but he did really impress us.”
Who knows what the summer will bring (we understand that the club are focusing on staying up before serious talks regarding signings can start) but if West Ham was to pursue him as a target they are set to face some stiff competition.
Orban has made it clear that his goal is Premier League football and with the chance of Europa league football next season still being realistic we could be able to tempt him. It’s all to play for in the second leg, West Ham will need the fans behind them to build a good atmosphere and make home advantage count in the second leg.
Written by Charlie Bass
