Some players have scored more hat tricks than Elling Holland.
Soccer statistics company TransferMarkt released a ranking of the players with the most hat tricks in 2023 on its official social media accounts on Thursday. The top spot went to Gift Orban (5). He is followed by Holland (4), Karim Benzema (3), Alexandre Lacazette (3), Harry Kane (3), Mamadou Thiam (2), Serge Giroud (2), Kylian Mbappe (2), Santiago Jimenez (2), and Olly Watkins (2).
Holland is regarded as the best striker in the game today. He tore up the Bundesliga with Dortmund before joining Manchester City in the Premier League (PL) last season. His goalscoring prowess hasn’t changed in the PL. Holland didn’t need an adjustment period to start scoring goals. He was a multi-goal performer from the opening day and scored many more throughout the season. Holland finished as the PL’s top scorer with 36 goals.
Holland surpassed Alan Shearer and Andy Cole’s PL single-season record of 34 goals (42 games). The previous PL single-season record was 32 goals by Salah in the 38-game format. Holland scored 52 goals in all competitions last season. Holland’s performance helped City win the treble. This season hasn’t been as good as last, but he’s still a devastating striker. He has 19 goals in 22 games across all competitions this season, with one hat trick.
With so many goals, Holland scored four hat tricks in 2023, a number that Orban could not surpass. Orban has five hat tricks this year alone. Orban plays for Belgian side Gent, the same team that Hong Hyun-seok is famous for. He joined the club in the winter transfer window of the 2022-23 season and has been on a scoring spree across the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) and leagues. Orban scored 20 goals in 22 games.
However, this season has been a disappointment. In 17 league games, he scored just three goals. Still, he found the back of the net in the UECL qualifiers and the main competition, helping Ghent cruise. Gent were drawn in Group B alongside Tel Aviv, Zorya Luhansk, and Bladavlik, and finished second in the group with four wins, one draw, and one loss to advance to the round of 16 playoffs. Orban scored four goals in the UECL qualifiers and five goals in the UECL final.
Orban is a young player, born in 2002. He has good balance and quick feet, making him a threatening striker. His movement allows him to find gaps in the defense and score goals. He’s also a good finisher, so he has all the qualities you’d expect from a striker. However, he isn”t very tall at 5’10” and lacks precision. He’s still young, so if he can work on his shortcomings, he could make it to the big leagues.