Gift Orban was on target for KAA Gent as they thrashed Slovak side MŠK Žilina 5-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round on Thursday. 

The Nigerian continued from where he stopped last season by opening the scoring for De Buffalo’s in the 23rd minute, a goal which help settle the nerves of the Belgian side. 

Julian de Salt made it 2-0 in the 55th minute. Hugo Cuypers scored the first of his brace in the 65th minute while Japanese international Tsuyoshi Watanabe made it 4-0 in the 76th minute.

Also read: Gent want €25 million for Gift Orban 

The visitors grabbed a consolation goal in the 79th minute through Adrian Kapralik while Cuypers scored his second of the game in the 85th minute to seal a memorable victory for the hosts. The second leg of their Conference League tie will be played on August 3.

Orban was in action for 73 minutes before making way for Andrew Hjulsager. His compatriot Jordan Torunarigha saw 87 minutes of action before being replaced by Alessio Castro-Montes.

The 21-year-old is on his way out of the club having attracted interest from French Ligue 1 side Lille and Lens while a couple of Premier League sides are also expected to join the race for his signature.

He’s being valued at over 25 million by his club.