Fit Gent striker Gift Orban left on the bench amid links with Tottenham Hotspur 

Prolific Nigerian attacker Gift Orban was a non-playing substitute as KAA Gent registered a 1-0 road win over KV Mechelen in a Jupiler Pro League clash at the AFAS Stadion on Sunday evening, even though he is in good physical condition. 

Orban has been linked with a possible move to Tottenham Hotspur in recent days, with the Lilywhites targeting him as a possible replacement for their iconic player Harry Kane, who is heavily courted by German champions Bayern Munich. 

The 21-year-old being left on the bench for the entirety of the game has nothing to do with his form as he has picked up where he left off last season by scoring in each of his first two competitive matches for De Buffalo's in the new season.

Orban has not tasted action for two games in a row, against MSK Zilina in the second leg of the second qualifying round of the Europa Conference League and KV Mechelen in the Belgian top-flight, fueling speculation that a transfer may be on the cards this summer. 

Gent manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck has insisted that it was a coaching decision to keep Orban on the bench and nothing to do with an imminent transfer. 

Vanhaezebrouck said to Het Laatste Nieuws: "No. I'm not going to say anything more about it. We're talking about a player who hasn't played. Fifteen boys made minutes today.

"You can ask me anything about them. Gift will play again soon and then you can ask me about him again."

Orban was disappointed to be an unused substitute against KV Mechelen and did not feel like celebrating with the Gent fans at the end of the game but later changed his mind and joined his teammates. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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