‘ANGRY’ CEO HITS OUT AFTER TOTTENHAM CALL OFF £25M DEAL FOR STRIKER
Tottenham Hotspur reportedly felt £25 million was too much for Gift Orban but KAA Gent CEO Michael Louwagie clearly does not share that opinion with the Premier League giants.
Tottenham reportedly changed their minds about signing the goal-scoring “phenomenon” to North London in August because they thought Gent’s £25 million asking price was a little high for a 21-year-old who had just arrived at the Ghelamco Arena during the winter transfer window.
Although Gent refused to move on Gift Orban’s valuation, Louwagie believed that the outrageous sums paid by other Premier League clubs for players like Antony—who switched from Ajax to Manchester United in a transaction worth £86 million—provided more than enough reason.
Tottenham backed out of Gift Orban deal
That has already enraged me. Why are players like Antony sold by Ajax and PSV for 95 million euros while others are sold for as little as 40 to 50 million? Louwagie inquires, addressing Het Nieuwsblad.
And why, given that the competition is at least as strong (as in the Eredivisie), should we believe that 30 million euros is excessive?
However, we are Belgian. Instead of demanding higher pricing and advancing Belgian football, (we) envy each other over our meals.
We ought to stop doing that immediately.
‘A phenomenon’
Since moving from Stabaek to Gent in January, Orban has scored a stunning 26 goals in 31 appearances. Maintain his present rate of development, and a player who could have been under pressure to replace Harry Kane sooner rather than later is almost guaranteed to be on the market for more than £25 million.
Gent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck said, “(Orban) is a phenomenon,” after the youngster’s European hat-trick against Pogon Szczencin in August. And he’ll keep becoming a phenomenon. I’ve said it five times before, and I’ll say it again.
“Even if he is no longer here, he will remain a phenomenon, and I will continue to say that. His hat-trick? That is nothing special in itself anymore, is it?”
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“It’s bad for football…” – Superstar shows sympathy towards Tottenham player and speaks out
Prior to Brazil’s game against Peru on Tuesday night, Richarlison of Tottenham Hotspur had been the center of attention due to his goal drought for the national team.
With help from teammates, the athlete was anticipated to score in this new game after missing a golden opportunity against Bolivia.
That actually occurred, but after a six-minute review, which felt like a bucket of cold water, it was determined that he was offside. Brazilian star Neymar then approached to discuss this. Globo Esporte is the source of the quotations.
“I don’t think Richarlison’s was offside, the image is diagonal, there’s no precision to it. It’s bad for football, everyone comes to see the goal. When the doubt is cancelled out, it gets boring. But that’s part of it,” said Neymar.
Brazil ended up winning the match, but with Richarlison not scoring again, the national team’s main striker now has five games without a goal.
The Tottenham striker didn’t hide his frustration after the match, and speaking to local journalists, admitted he’s going through a difficult personal time, and will seek psychological help.
It’s unclear whether that will affect his upcoming matches with Spurs. He has five appearances for Tottenham this season, and is still to score in their Premier League campaign.
