Hoffenheim coach Christian Ilzer has revealed that Nigerian striker Gift Orban has not gotten a lot of playing time at the club is due to tactical reasons, Soccernet.ng reports.
Orban joined Hoffenheim from Lyon in a half-season loan deal in January due to his lack of playing time in France. The 22-year-old striker was used sparingly due to the highly bloated Lyon squad. At times, he did not even make the matchday squad.
Since Orban moved to Lyon, his game time has increased significantly, but he has had to compete with Haris Tabakovic despite helping the club with four goals in 12 Bundesliga appearances.
Last week, he was also left on the bench in Hoffenheim's 2-0 win over Mainz at the PreZero Arena. Even when Tabakovic was taken off, it was for Erencan Yardimci.
Hoffenheim take on Freiburg at the Europa-Park Stadion this weekend. And ahead of the clash, coach Ilzer spoke about Orban's situation.
“We decided that Haris was a better option against Mainz. Therefore, we went for him. With the way the game went, we decided to make changes to stabilise the team. But Gift trained very well this week and is certainly an option for tomorrow,” Ilzer said.
The game between Freiburg and Hoffenheim promises to be an enticing one. Freiburg have shown that they can bleed as they have conceded nine goals in their last nine matches.
Orban has also shown that he can be prolific, so he is a good option for Ilzer.
Will Gift Orban return to Lyon at the end of the season?
Orban has been decent since joining Hoffenheim. And with what he has shown, he could still succeed at Lyon. The new coach Paulo Fonseca has done a job job this season and he would likely be open to see Orban.
If the Nigerian striker ends the season on a high, he might still have a shot at playing for Lyon next season..
