Concern for Arsenal? Real Madrid tipped to use Odegaard as bargaining tool to land Erling Haaland
Last Updated: February 20, 2021 11:27 am
Speculation stemming from the Spanish media has hinted that Real Madrid could welcome on-loan Martin Odegaard back into the fold at the club this summer, to boost their chances of landing Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
Gunners switch
Norwegian creator Odegaard was of course once viewed as the next up and coming star of European football.
After returning to parent club Real on the back of an impressive loan stint with La Liga rivals Real Sociedad last season, however, the 22-year-old majorly struggled for game-time.
In fact, over the opening half of the Spanish top-flight campaign, Odegaard was afforded a paltry 3 starts.
In turn, it came as little surprise to see another temporary departure from the Bernabeu widely touted upon the opening of the January transfer window, with Arsenal, in the end, having beaten out all competition to clinch a deal.
Odegaard made the move to the Emirates for the remainder of the campaign, to alleviate some of the creative burden on the shoulders of the young Emile Smith Rowe:
👋 Welcome to The Arsenal, Martin Odegaard! 🇳🇴
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 27, 2021
Bernabeu return?
Arsenal’s latest midfield addition has since gone on to to feature on 4 occasions, including from the off versus both Leeds United and Benfica over the course of the last week.
And the Norwegian, for the most part, has impressed, adding some much-needed guile to the Gunners’ ranks in the middle of the park.
In turn, murmurs have already begun to spread in the media regarding the possibility of Edu and co. carving out a permanent deal for Odegaard, with a future in north London beyond the summer seemingly not out of the question.
Martin Odegaard during the match between FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad, corresponding to the week 27 of the Liga Santander, played at the Camp Nou Stadium, on 07th March 2020, in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport /NurPhoto via Getty Images)
As outlined above, however, if the latest word doing the rounds in the European media on Friday is to be believed, then Arsenal’s hopes of keeping hold of their on-loan midfield talent could be in line for an imminent blow.
This comes amid claims that Real Madrid may be ready to welcome Odegaard back into the first-team fold at the club this summer.
As per a report from Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Los Blancos view the 22-year-old as a potential bargaining tool, in their bid to land Borussia Dortmund sensation Erling Haaland.
Odegaard and Haaland – teammates at international level with Norway – are said to be close friends, with the former’s presence in the Spanish capital viewed as a potentially key factor in convincing one of world football’s most in-demand young talents to swap Signal Iduna Park for the Bernabeu.
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
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| 9 | Aston Villa FC | 26 | 11 | 40 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 27 | 7 | 38 |
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|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 16 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 7 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
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| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
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| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
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| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
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| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
