Barcelona interested in Nigerian wonderkid transfer

Things are going well at FC Barcelona. Joan Laporta has signed key youngsters to contract extensions while also trimming the wage budget. After beating Real Betis 5-0 at the weekend, Barca followed that up with a convincing 5-0 win to start their Champions League campaign.

Long-term planning and player development is a way for Barcelona to avoid the pitfalls of prior management failures. With the club reportedly €1.4 billion in debt, Barca needs to be smart. Part of that smart strategy is identifying and signing young players and then developing them.

Barcelona identified Gift Orban as a potential new signing

Recent reports have linked Barca to one of the most exciting young strikers in Europe, with Caught Offside reporting the current La Liga champions are interested in signing Gent striker Gift Orban.

The young Nigerian enjoyed an outstanding campaign for the Belgian side last term scoring 20 goals across all competitions, and he’s picked up where he left off finding the net 6 times in 10 games so far this season.

Barcelona have already secured the signing of Vitor Roque who’s expected to arrive in January once the Brazilian season has concluded, but life after Robert Lewandowski needs to be planned for, and more than one striker is needed.

Orban arrived in Europe with Stabæk, a Norwegian second-division side. In his first season, he was the league’s top-scorer with 16 goals and then moved on to Gent. Lightning-quick, Orban has shown a keen eye for goal and has continued to score at a rapid pace considering his age.

He’s not the finished article considering he can be moved off the ball by powerful defenders, and his positioning and awareness are still a work in progress,  but with some top-class coaching, he can be an elite striker.

If Barcelona hope to secure his signing, they’ll need to act quickly. Premier League side Tottenham and Italian giants AC Milan have already circled him as a potential target with the North London side reportedly interested in making him Harry Kane’s replacement after the England striker moved to Munich earlier this summer.