Martin Odegaard has impressed at Arsenal since joining on loan in January, but won’t be making a permanent move to the Emirates this summer.
According to Marca, Real Madrid still believe that he can have an impact at the club and are determined to give him another chance to prove his worth next season.
Odegaard first arrived at the Bernabeu in 2015 and has spent most of the last six years out on loan, with Heerenveen, Vitesse, Real Sociedad and now Arsenal.
He had just turned 16 when he moved to Real from Stromsgodset, where he had progressed through the youth ranks to make his debut as the Tippeligaen’s youngest ever player.
While Real have given him few first team opportunities so far, they remain invested in the prospect of him becoming a regular player.
The loan move to Arsenal, which was pushed through at Odegaard’s insistence, has given him a much-needed confidence boost.
Odegaard feels valued by the club, and Mikel Arteta, in a way that he didn’t at Real under Zinedine Zidane, who only granted him nine appearances before his departure.
He has already played more games than that in just a couple of months at Arsenal, as well as scoring goals against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and Olympiacos in the Europa League.
Arsenal have been impressed by how seamlessly he has slotted into the team and would love to make his loan move permanent, but Real have other ideas.
They want to give Odegaard another chance to establish himself as an important player, believing that he has the ability to do so, and his prospects were undermined by injuries earlier this season.
At 22, time is certainly still on Odegaard’s side and his form for Arsenal has only reinforced the sense that he could flourish in the right environment.
