Belgian side AA Gent are regretting their decision to rebuff Tottenham’s interest in Gift Orban in the summer, as they’re now forced to sell on the cheap this month.
That’s according to Voetbal Nieuws, who cover the player today as he joins Lyon in a reported €20m move.
They explain that Gent asked for €30m for Orban last summer after a superb season that had seen him score 20 goals in 22 games in all competitions after joining Gent in the January transfer window.
That high asking price ‘deterred’ Tottenham and Fulham, the latter even making a bid for the striker as they sought to replace Aleksandr Mitrovic.
He’s now joined Lyon, as the move was made official on Thursday afternoon, after a drop of 33% in price and a major disappointing for Gent in the process.
While they need the money and are happy to take it now, there’s a realisation that their decision to rebuff Tottenham in the summer was a ‘historical miscalculation’.
They could have done a deal with Spurs, or indeed Fulham, with the former’s scouts ‘convinced’ that Orban would be an excellent investment for the future.
Instead, they stood firm, played hardball looking for a bigger fee, even seeking a league record at the time and that has now not paid off. T
hey are now having to accept one that will see them get €15m, €5m in bonuses and a 20% sell-on clause and the regret that presumably comes with it.
