Super Eagles invitee Gift Orban has completed a loan move to Serie A side Hellas Verona from Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim.
The 23-year-old striker joins on a season-long deal, with Verona holding an option to make the transfer permanent at the end of the campaign.
Reports in Italy suggest the Gialloblù will pay a loan fee of around €1m and cover his full wages, with the option to buy worth €9m.
The switch marks Orban’s fourth transfer in just 31 months since leaving Norwegian club Stabæk, where he first broke through in 2022. He scored 16 goals and added seven assists to fire the team back into the Eliteserien.
Gift Orban donning the Hellas Verona Shirt. Photo Credit: Hellas Verona/X
That form earned him a move to Belgium with KAA Gent in January 2023. He scored twice on his league debut against Westerlo and later entered the record books by netting the fastest hat-trick in UEFA competition history three goals in under four minutes against Istanbul Başakşehir.
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Orban ended his debut campaign with 20 goals in 22 games.
In January 2024, he signed for French side Lyon, contributing five goals across Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France. A year later, he joined Hoffenheim, where he scored four times in 13 Bundesliga appearances.
Gift Orban at Hellas Verona. Photo Credit: Hellas Verona/X
Eight months on, Orban has now been unveiled in Italy, with Verona hoping he can rediscover his prolific form.
“Hellas Verona FC announces that it has acquired on loan with an option to buy – the sporting performances of forward Gift Orban from TSG Hoffenheim,” the club said in a statement, adding: “Hellas Verona FC extends a warm welcome to Gift, wishing him a future full of personal and professional success in the Gialloblù shirt.”
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Orban will now work under manager Pablo Zanetti as he looks to revive his career and stake a stronger claim for regular inclusion with Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
