Arsenal journalist Charles Watts has given his views on the likelihood of Martin Odegaard staying at the club next season.
The Norwegian, valued at £36m on Transfermarkt, got off to an incredible start when he first joined the Gunners on loan in the January transfer window, and it looked like Arsenal had found their ‘missing piece’. But his form has slowly dwindled away, only managing to score more than a 7 on WhoScored once since the start of April.
A recent report from Football.London claimed that Odegaard wants to stay at The Emirates next season, noting that “he has been impressed by Mikel Arteta’s project and feels highly valued as part of the squad at the Emirates.”
But speaking on the latest episode of his show, Watts revealed that Odegaard’s future may come down to what his parent club Real Madrid have to say on the matter:
(3:02) “I think a lot of what’s to do with Martin Odegaard’s future is going to relate to who that manager is. It’s pretty clear that Zinedine Zidane doesn’t really rate Odegaard that highly, he’s never really given him an opportunity but a new guy might.
“And the word coming out Madrid as well, from people you speak to over there, is that the club themselves, they like Odegaard think he’s a player for the future, maybe that is in a bit of a contrast to what Zinedine Zidane thinks.
(5:03) “But Martin Odegaard I think there’s certainly going to be discussions had between Arsenal, Madrid and the player once the season comes to an end and once Madrid know exactly what’s going on in terms of their manager for next season, and Zinedine Zidane’s future.”
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TIF Thoughts on Charles Watts’ comments regarding Martin Odegaard’s future
Whilst Watts seems to think Real Madrid have control in this situation, as Harry Kane at Tottenham is showing us, if a player wants to leave and pursue opportunities elsewhere, then he can certainly do his best to try and make it happen.
And if Arsenal can offer them a deal that is too good to turn down, then it’s all the more likely that he can return to the Emirates next season. And it might also go some way to dispelling the notion that Arsenal won’t be able to attract players despite being out of Europe.
In other news: ‘Certainly didn’t fill me with confidence’ – Watts reacts as Arsenal player update emerges