Verona End Orban Interest As Nigerian Striker Heads Back To Hoffenheim

Gift Orban’s loan spell at Hellas Verona will not result in a permanent move, with the Serie A club deciding against activating the purchase option in his contract. The Nigerian forward is therefore set to return to his parent club, Hoffenheim, once the current season concludes.

The 23-year-old joined Verona on a temporary basis last summer, with both sides agreeing on a future purchase clause as part of the deal.

Over the course of the campaign, Orban has made 28 league appearances for the Gialloblù, finding the net seven times and providing two assists.

Despite those respectable numbers, his form has tailed off sharply in recent months. The former Lyon man has gone nearly three months without scoring a single goal for Verona, a drought that appears to have convinced the club’s hierarchy not to invest in a long-term acquisition.

German outlet BILD reports that the modest Italian side have formally opted against signing Orban on a permanent basis. That leaves the player’s immediate future tied to Hoffenheim, where he remains under contract until 2029.

Orban’s move to the Bundesliga came in January 2025, when Hoffenheim paid €9 million to pry him away from French club Olympique Lyonnais.

Now, after a promising but ultimately unconvincing loan in Italy, he will return to Germany looking to rediscover his scoring touch and fight for a place in his parent club’s plans.