The inspired £25m striker signing who could help Spurs fill the gaping Harry Kane void

It’s only been a few days since Harry Kane confirmed that he was leaving Tottenham Hotspur – not enough time for Spurs fans to grieve. But there are also only two weeks left in the summer transfer window, so the period of mourning will have to be cut short and a new striker anointed before too long. Or, at least, within the last ten minutes of the deadline. It’s Daniel Levy negotiating the deal, after all.

And the word is that Spurs have already identified their first-choice replacement – Gift Orban, a striker who’s yet to play the highest level but has scored so many in Norway and Belgium that he’s rapidly been identified as one of the most promising young strikers in world football, and rumours had linked both Liverpool and Manchester United with a bid earlier in the summer. Spurs now seem to be the favourites for his signature, and it would be a very exciting purchase indeed.

Orban only arrived in Europe last year, signing for Norwegian side Stabæk, then in the second tier, from Bison FC in his home country of Nigeria. His impact was immediate, with 19 goals in 24 games for his new club, a record which earned them promotion to the top flight and him the division’s Young Player of the Year award.

And in January he was on the move again, signed by KAA Gent – and since stepping up to the Pro League plate he’s started scoring even faster, hitting 25 goals in his first 25 games, including two hat-tricks in European competition. Barely six months after arriving in Belgium, he will likely be on the move again, and this time to the Premier League.

Orban is a striker with a long list of impressive attributes. He’s genuinely fast with a serious burst of acceleration in his boots, has a fine first touch, an excellent ball carrier and is brave in front of goal. He’s just as much a threat picking up the ball in front of the defensive line as he is in behind, and uses his quick feet and explosivity to create huge swathes of shooting opportunities, as well as creating them for those around him.

All of which makes him sound like a slam dunk for Spurs – but there are issues with his game, and it will be interesting to see how he handles a big step up. He isn’t especially tall or strong, and is prone to getting levered off the ball by more physically-impressive defenders – and in particular, he often tries to control the ball in a very open, square stance which leaves him off balance when pushed around.

He’s also something of a volume striker, and scores because of the sheer number of chances he can generate rather than because of especially incisive finishing. He tends to snatch at chances slightly and doesn’t seem to have great instinctive judgement of how open or closed his body shape needs to be as he makes contact.

So whether Orban would be able to stand up to the pressure exerted by the canniest and toughest Premier League defenders is debatable, and is whether he could create quite so many opportunities for himself at Spurs as he can in Belgium. He lacks experience at the top level – he still hasn’t played for Nigeria, or for Togo for whom he is qualified via his mother – and needs to have his rough edges coached out to make the grade as a top striker, but when you watch him repeatedly leaving defenders for dead and smashing the ball into the back of the net, you can’t help but conclude that he’s worth a gamble.

Especially at what would be a knockdown price if he could make the transition. Gent are holding out for €30m (£25.6m) as it stands, but there have been reports that Levy (being who he is) is trying to take a couple of million off that fee. It will likely be a few more days before we know how likely a deal is to be struck.

As for how he’d stack up at Spurs? Well, he lacks Richarlison’s experience and guile, but is a more natural goalscorer even if far less of an all-rounder, and has a dynamite turn of speed and foot movement that the Brazilian can’t match – even if he is better in the air, handy when it comes to nodding in all those James Maddison free-kicks.

Spurs do have two other young forwards in the mix, Troy Parrott and new signing Alejo Véliz (you can read a full scouting report on the Argentinian here), but neither of them have a proven top-tier track record behind them either – and all signs point to Orban being a preternatural goalscoring presence on a level the other two don’t appear to be able to reach.

Would he be a regular starter from the start? Maybe, although one expects Richarlison to be given the opportunity to nail the place down first, with Orban as a seriously impactful supersub option. But if he does what Spurs clearly hope he can do, and simply continue scoring incredible numbers of goals, then he could be an incredibly shrewd signing. Harry who, sorry?