Jurgen Klopp has hailed Martin Odegaard and has admitted that he has always followed the Arsenal midfielder’s progress.
Everybody will remember when Odegaard, 23, was one of the top wonderkids in world football.
The playmaker emerged with Stromsgodset in his native Norway before Europe’s elite all made their pitches to him.
Real Madrid won the race, snapping up Odegaard at the age of just 16 – months after he made his Norway debut aged just 15.
Odegaard’s time at Real Madrid really didn’t go to plan though as he made just 11 first-team appearances whilst being sent out on loan to Heerenveen, Vitesse Arnhem, Real Sociedad and Arsenal.
Jurgen Klopp has hailed Martin Odegaard
Arsenal decided to pounce for Odegaard permanently in 2021 and that move looks like a masterstroke.
The Norwegian is now Arsenal captain and serves as the creative hub of the team.
Odegaard is now living up to that early potential and Arsenal will be expecting him to get even better under Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal will just be glad to have won the race given that the Daily Star reported that Liverpool were rivalling them for Odegaard.
This came after Odegaard was seen speaking to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp on the pitch after a 3-0 thrashing for the Reds at the Emirates Stadium.
No move to Anfield materialised for Odegaard, which is the same story as when Liverpool showed an interest in him in his teenage years.
Yet Liverpool boss Klopp remains a keen admirer of Odegaard and has opened up on the Arsenal star.
Speaking to TV2 in Odegaard’s native Norway, Klopp has admitted that he really likes Odegaard but that’s an easy verdict now he’s shining with Arsenal.
Klopp admitted trying to bring Odegaard to Borussia Dortmund but that just didn’t happen.
Klopp, whose Liverpool side will face Odegaard and Arsenal this weekend, suggested that Odegaard is even better than expected now and believes he is a ‘really top player’.
“I really like him,” said Klopp. “It’s easy these days. It was a bit more difficult at the start of his career when he was at Real Madrid. Then it looked like it might not go his way. I was really disappointed by that, because we wanted him in Dortmund when he was very young. We had a long conversation when he was still a boy, together with his father. In the end he decided on Madrid, and that’s fine, but that’s why I’ve always followed him.”
“I am really happy that he has now become the player we all expected him to become. Actually even better than that, if you will. He plays a massive role in an incredibly strong Arsenal team. He is still young, clear-headed, very influential. I honestly can’t say anything negative about him. Really a top player,” he added.
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