Eight months after signing for a fee of €9 million, TSG striker Gift Orban is already being transferred again.
It was the first major transfer under the responsibility of new sporting director Andreas Schicker when he signed Gift Orban as a new hope for the relegation battle on January 2. After all, the selling club Olympique Lyon had transferred €14 million for the Nigerian to Belgian club Gent in the winter of 2024.
Orban had caused a sensation there when he scored four goals in a 6-2 league win against Waregem and, just a few days later, recorded the fastest hat trick in European Cup history in the Conference League, scoring three goals in less than four minutes in a 4-1 win against Basaksehir Istanbul.
The muscular striker, who is only 1.78 meters tall, also seemed to be taking off in Hoffenheim when he scored four times in five games between the 19th and 24th matchdays of last season. However, these were to be his last goals for TSG for the time being. Faced with new competition from Tim Lemperle, Fisnik Asllani, and home-grown talent Max Moerstedt, Orban’s playing time and prospects dwindled, and he is certainly not known as the easiest benchwarmer. That is why TSG had been looking for a solution for some time—it turned out to be a temporary solution.
Initially, a sale back to Toulouse in France seemed likely, but nothing came of it. Now the journey is likely to take him to Italy, with Orban on the verge of a move to Hellas Verona. According to reports, an agreement has now been reached with the Italian first division club for a loan with an option to buy after this season.
Loan with option to buy
According to reports, the deal includes a loan fee of half a million euros and a purchase option of eight million euros. Orban is under contract with Hoffenheim until 2029. TSG appears to be speculating that Orban will regain a significantly higher market value in Verona and that the investment made in January will pay off next summer.
