Gift Orban Shines After Hat-Trick in Super Lig

Turkish football expert Sergen Yalçın has praised Amedspor striker Gift Orban as a top candidate for the Turkish Super Lig Player of the Week. This comes after Orban scored three goals in his team’s 5-0 victory over İstanbul Başakşehir, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

Yalçın pointed out that Orban is the obvious choice for the award. He praised Orban's strength and athletic skills during the match against Başakşehir. He said, “The player of the week is clear: Amed’s centre forward Gift Orban. Good player, very physically strong and also a good athletic player, scored three goals too. Undoubtedly the player of the week, one hundred per cent,” Yalçın told HT Spor.

With this hat-trick, Orban now has six goals in five Super Lig games. He has also contributed one assist since joining Amedspor on loan from Hoffenheim.

After not scoring in his first two league matches, the 24-year-old finally netted against Trabzonspor. He scored two goals in the 2-2 draw with Kasimpasa. Then, he made headlines with his first Super Lig hat-trick against Başakşehir.

This strong start shows that Orban is getting back to his best. He had a tough time lately and struggled to score like he used to when he was a top young striker at Gent.

While at Gent, he scored 28 goals and made two assists in 44 matches. He moved to French club Lyon for €14m in January 2024. However, he only managed five goals in 21 appearances for Lyon before transferring to Hoffenheim in January 2025.

His time in Germany was also challenging. Orban scored four goals in 13 games before he spent last season on loan at Hellas Verona. There, he scored seven goals and provided two assists over 29 matches.

After Verona got relegated to Serie B, Hoffenheim decided not to keep Orban for the 2026/27 season. They loaned him to Amedspor, where he has quickly found his scoring form again.

Orban is now tied as the top scorer in the Turkish league with six goals, matching fellow Nigerian Victor Osimhen. He will aim to add to his tally when Amedspor takes on Beşiktaş in their next match on Sunday.

Orban has a good track record against teams from Istanbul, having scored a hat-trick against Başakşehir while playing for Gent in the Europa Conference League back in 2023. That treble, finished in just two minutes and 50 seconds, is the fastest hat-trick ever recorded in European competition history.