Gift Orban among contenders for CAF Men's Young Player of the Year award

• The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has nominated Nigeria's rising star, Gift Orban for the coveted CAF Men's Young Player of the Year accolade.

Orban, who recently earned an invitation to the Super Eagles squad, faces stiff competition from a cadre of talented footballers, including Bournemouth's agile winger, Dango Ouattara, and former Barcelona forward, Abdessamad Ezzalzouli.

Other nominees vying for the prestigious award are Burkina Faso's Souleymane Alio, Ghana's Ernest Nuamah, and Morocco's Bilal El Khannouss, and a quartet of Senegalese talents, Lamine Camara, Papa Amadou Diallo, Pape Diop, and Amara Diouf.

Orban's nomination comes as a result of his impressive goal-scoring feats, which have captured the attention of the top European clubs.

Since his debut for KAA Gent in February, the 21-year-old center forward has racked up an impressive tally of 27 goals and two assists in just 38 appearances for the Belgian side.

Orban etched his name in the UEFA history books for the fastest hat-trick in any European competition, courtesy of his stunning goals against Istanbul Basaksehir this year.

In the summer, the diminutive centre-forward was linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona but nothing concrete came out of the transfer rumours.