Royale Union Saint Gilloise striker Victor Boniface has revealed his friendship with compatriot and KAA Gent prodigy Gift Orban.
Both players performed excellently during the European club competitions this week, with Orban even being named ‘Player of the Week’ in the Conference League.
While Boniface helped Royale USG dump Germany’s Union Berlin out of the Europa League, Orban netted the fastest hat-trick in the European club football history.
Boniface, who knows Orban personally, spoke to Het Nieuwsblad about his relationship with the striker and offered some words of caution.
“I did tell him to calm down a bit because it’s getting a bit much now,” Boniface said with a smile.
Only last weekend, Orban scored four times as Gent defeated Zulte Waregem, taking the 20-year-old’s tally to seven goals in two games.
And Boniface was quick to praise Orban’s skills as a striker. “His great quality is that he knows how to score goals, which is important for a striker,” Boniface said.
“But he can also learn from me,” he added, referring to his own dribbling skills.
Orban has been a revelation at KAA Gent since he arrived from Stabæk Fotball in January. He has already scored 12 goals after nine games in the Jupiler Pro League and the Conference League.
It would be recalled that, about this time last week, Victor Boniface was named the UEFA Europa League Player of the Week after his outstanding two-goal performance against Union Berlin.
Strangely, both Boniface and Orban were not included in Nigeria’s latest 23-man squad ahead of the Afcon qualifiers against Guinea-Bissau.