Report: Spurs are 'watching with suspicion' as one target's form has dipped 

The print edition of Het Laatste Nieuws (as relayed by Sport Witness) has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur are not as convinced by Gift Orban anymore in light of the striker’s recent struggles.

Spurs were linked with a whole host of strikers across Europe following Harry Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich, with Orban widely reported as the North London club’s top target (CaughtOffside).

However, in the end, Tottenham decided against signing an out-and-out number nine, choosing instead to strike a £47.5m deal with Nottingham Forest for the versatile Brennan Johnson.

Gent’s Gift Emmanuel Orban celebrates after scoring during a first leg game between Belgian soccer team KAA Gent and Slovakian club MSK Zilina, in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League competition, on Thursday 27 July 2023 in Gent. BELGA PHOTO VIRGINIE LEFOUR (Photo by VIRGINIE LEFOUR / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP) (Photo by VIRGINIE LEFOUR/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)

Orban’s struggles have put Spurs off a little bit

HLN have now stated that Tottenham walked away from a €30m (£26m) deal for the striker as they considered ‘the gamble too big’ and wanted to see more from him to be sure that he can succeed at a higher level.

Orban has not done anything to convince the Spurs hierarchy so far this season, with the 21-year-old not having found the back of the net since August 20th.

The report describes that as a ‘serious slump’ for the Nigerian and adds that ‘things have gone completely wrong’ for him over recent weeks.

Finally, the publication states that Tottenham are now watching ‘with suspicion’ to see if Orban can recover from this slump.

Spurs Web Opinion

This should perhaps serve as a learning moment to all the Spurs fans who were livid with the club for not signing Orban after watching a few YouTube compilations of his goals. 

Recruitment decisions are quite complicated and there are a whole host of factors that determine whether a singing is successful or not. 

While we as fans are entitled to have strong opinions, to question the competency of those making these decisions in extremely harsh terms is uncalled for, given that none of us are as qualified as those making these decisions.