Permanent Odegaard stay? Confirmation that Arsenal & Real Madrid ‘will talk at end of the season’
Arsenal’s chances of making Martin Odegaard’s arrival a permanent one may in fact not be as slim as previously thought.
Gunners making moves
The major talking point at the Emirates this weekend has of coursed surrounded additions to Mikel Arteta’s squad.
First, on Friday, Arsenal announced their first high-profile addition of the January window, securing the services of shot-stopper Mat Ryan from Brighton on a temporary basis:
👋 Welcome to The Arsenal, @MatyRyan!
The @Socceroos keeper joins us on loan from @OfficialBHAFC until the end of the season 🤝
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 22, 2021
Even more exciting for fans of the Gunners, though, has been the chatter surrounding Martin Odegaard.
Norwegian creator Odegaard was of course once viewed as the next up and coming star of European football.
Since returning to parent club Real Madrid on the back of an impressive loan stint with La Liga rivals Real Sociedad last season, however, the 22-year-old has majorly struggled for game-time.
In fact, to this point in the Spanish top-flight campaign, Odegaard has been afforded a paltry 3 starts.
As such, it has come as little surprise to see another temporary departure from the Bernabeu widely touted of late.
Permanent stay?
The landing spot most persistently touted for Odegaard over the early weeks of the window, understandably, were Sociedad, where the midfielder shone so brightly less than 12 months ago, and could continue his development in a comfortable surrounding.
The last 48 hours+, however, have seen La Real blown completely out of the water by none other than Arsenal.
A phone call on the part of Mikel Arteta is said to have proven key to convincing Odegaard that a spell at the Emirates would breathe fresh life into his career, with a loan for the 2nd half of the campaign, in turn, expected to be announced imminently:
🚨 Martin Odegaard loan from Real Madrid to Arsenal agreed. 22yo scheduled to fly to London later on Sunday & have medical on Monday. Elite sportsperson exemption means no isolation via negative #COVID19 test. With @gunnerblog for @TheAthleticUK #RMFC #AFC https://t.co/HtPlsV2bEL
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) January 24, 2021
One stance which has remained consistent throughout the media coverage of Arsenal’s swoop for Odegaard, though, is of course the fact that the Gunners will not secure an option to make the Norwegian’s signing permanent come the summer.
And though such claims are expected to prove accurate upon the deal between the clubs being announced, all hope of the board in north London swinging a more long-term agreement in 6 months’ time does not yet appear lost.
This comes amid claims that, in fact, Arsenal and Real Madrid will discuss Odegaard’s future come the campaign’s conclusion:
Ødegaard > Arsenal details #AFC 👇🏻🔴
– Simple loan until June 2021 confirmed. No buy option, Real and Arsenall will discuss at the end of the season.
– Medicals already scheduled, Real Sociedad & Ajax turned down by Martin.
– Salary paid by #AFC, £2.5m loan fee as per Times. https://t.co/wSbYb0bmzk— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 24, 2021
Furthermore, it has been suggested by Norwegian journalist Arilas Ould-Saada that, should Odegaard go on to thrive under Mikel Arteta at the Emirates, Arsenal will have ‘good chances’ of carving out a permanent transfer in the summer:
.@arilasos: ‘I talked to Ødegaard in June 2019. Even then he was tired of instability with a new club every year. Wanted at least 2 seasons in a row in the same place. Therefore, I think, if he thrives at Arsenal and becomes a success, that the London club has good chances of
— Z (@ZRAFC) January 24, 2021
signing him permanently in the summer.’
— Z (@ZRAFC) January 24, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester United FC | 19 | 11 | 40 |
| 2 | Manchester City FC | 18 | 18 | 38 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 19 | 14 | 38 |
| 4 | Liverpool FC | 19 | 15 | 34 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 18 | 16 | 33 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 17 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | West Ham United FC | 19 | 5 | 32 |
| 8 | Aston Villa FC | 17 | 13 | 29 |
| 9 | Chelsea FC | 19 | 10 | 29 |
| 10 | Southampton FC | 18 | 5 | 29 |
| 11 | Arsenal FC | 19 | 4 | 27 |
| 12 | Leeds United | 18 | -4 | 23 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 19 | -11 | 23 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 19 | -8 | 22 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 18 | -12 | 19 |
| 16 | Newcastle United FC | 19 | -14 | 19 |
| 17 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 19 | -7 | 17 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 18 | -12 | 12 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 19 | -28 | 11 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 19 | -22 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 11 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 11 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 10 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 8 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 7 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Abraham, Tammy | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 5 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 6 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 5 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 5 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 6 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Reid, Bobby | Fulham FC | 0 | 5 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dunk, Lewis | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 4 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 5 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 4 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 5 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 4 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 4 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 8 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 5 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Harrison, Jack | Leeds United | 4 |
| Chilwell, Benjamin | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 4 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 3 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 3 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 3 |
