Gift Emmanuel Orban (born 17 July 2002) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for French Ligue 1 club Lyon.

In November 2021, he was scouted by Stabæk's Torgeir Bjarmann and Thomas Finstad in Nigeria during a showcase tournament.^[1] He trained with Stabæk during the winter of 2021/2022 before returning after his visa expired.^[2] Returning to Norway, he signed for Stabæk in late May 2022. The transfer from Nigerian club Bison was a loan with an option to buy.^[3][4]

He scored his first goals in cup matches against semi-professional teams Notodden and Gjøvik-Lyn (twice).^[5] After this he became a starting player for Stabæk. His goal against SK Brann was compared to Alanzinho's time at Stabæk.^[6] VG also called him a "striker jewel".^[7]

When Stabæk sold Oliver Valaker Edvardsen in July, the club announced they would spend the money on Orban's buyout option.^[8] The contract tying Orban to Stabæk until the end of 2026 was announced on 3 August.^[9] He became the top scorer in the 2022 Norwegian First Division with 16 goals, alongside Bård Finne.^[10] Helping Stabæk win promotion to 2023 Eliteserien, Orban was also named Young Player of the Year in the First Division.^[11][12]

On 31 January 2023, Orban joined Belgian Pro League side Gent on a permanent deal.^[13] On 11 February, Orban scored two goals on his Pro League debut in a 3–3 draw with Westerlo.^[14] On 12 March, Orban managed to score four goals in a 6–2 away win over Zulte Waregem, which made him the first Gent player to do so in the 21st century. All the goals came in the second-half.^[15][16] In his very next game on 15 March, he scored a first-half hat-trick in 4–1 away win over İstanbul Başakşehir in the UEFA Europa Conference League round 16. The hat-trick was scored within three minutes and 25 seconds, setting a new record for the fastest hat-trick in UEFA club competitions, breaking the previous record of six minutes and 12 seconds held by Mohammed Salah in the Champions League.^[17] In the 2023–24 Europa Conference League campaign of KAA Gent, Orban scored another European hat-trick, this time against Pogoń Szczecin in the first leg of the third qualification round, resulting in a 5–0 win for Gent.^[18]

On 18 January 2024, Orban signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Ligue 1 side Lyon, for a transfer fee of €12 million, which could rise to €20 million with add-ons, and a 20% sell-on clause.^[19][20] Orban had a slow start in his first season at Lyon, scoring only one league goal in 13 appearances. He did score twice in the Coupe de France in three games as Lyon made the 2024 Coupe de France final – however, Orban was unused substitute in the final. At the end of the season, Orban admitted that it had been "difficult to settle in".^[21]

On his first appearance in the 2024–25 season, Orban came off the bench with his side 3–2 down against Strasbourg and scored twice in nine minutes to win the game for Lyon.^[22]

Born in Benue State, Nigeria,^[23] Orban is of Togolese descent through his mother.^[24]

As of match played 7 November 2024^[25]

Lyon

• Coupe de France runner-up: 2023–24^[26]

Individual

• Norwegian First Division top scorer: 2022^[10]
• Norwegian First Division Young Player of the Year: 2022^[11]

• Profile at Norwegian FA