Dharmesh Sheth told the Transfer Show on Sky Sports (04/08/21 at 5:20 pm) that Arsenal are ‘keeping an eye’ on Martin Odegaard.
The Sky reporter suggested that the Real Madrid superstar would cost ‘a lot less than James Maddison’, with Arsenal looking at both players this summer.
Mikel Arteta wants to add more creativity into his midfield after the previous campaign saw them miss out on European football.
It seems as though it’s a waiting game for Odegaard and how things pan out for him at Real Madrid, as Sheth discusses.
“There are certain reports emanating from Spain suggesting that Carlo Ancelotti would consider allowing him to leave,” said Sheth.
“His contract situation could be the crux of the matter. When we talk about players in the last year of their contract, it’s dangerous. But almost as dangerous as to when they reach the last two years of their contracts.
“The club then knows that this summer would represent the time to get a substantial fee for somebody like Martin Odegaard. If it’s clear that Real Madrid decided that Odegaard wasn’t in their plans then he would cost a lot less than James Maddison.
“We are looking at an asking price of around £40 million because he’s got two years on his contract. And he doesn’t come from a premium of an English player being sold from a Premier League club to a Premier League – they are keeping an eye on Odegaard.”
The key thing with Odegaard is that his short loan stint has set him up to settle in straight away in North London if he does join.
Before he left, Mikel Arteta labelled him as a ‘young leader’, as he told Sky Sports.
And that’s exactly what Arsenal need in the middle of the park, players who can be vocal or show those leadership qualities with the ball.
If they can add a bit of spice, forward-thinking play and ball-carrying ability then it’s a bonus – and Odegaard provides that.
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