Real Madrid News
Real Madrid have first refusal on former midfielder thriving in the Premier League – report
When Real Madrid signed Martin Odegaard at a very young age almost eight years ago, the Norwegian was tipped as one of the future stars for the Spanish capital club.
However, that prediction did not come true as the attacking midfielder could not break into the team at the Santiago Bernabeu due to the presence of stalwarts like Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
After some loan stints, Odegaard, in search of regular game-time, decided to join Arsenal in 2021. And the move has paid dividends for the midfielder as he has become a pivotal player for the north London club.
In fact, the 24-year-old was even named club captain by Mikel Arteta this season and is currently leading Arsenal’s Premier League title charge. In 14 league appearances this term, Odegaard has produced a tally of six goals and four assists, standing out as a top performer.
Now, MARCA journalist Ramon Alvarez de Mon (h/t Daily Mail), is claiming that Real Madrid have a sort of a first-refusal option on Odegaard in case they ever decide to bring back the Norwegian international in the future.
“There is a kind of right of first refusal for Real Madrid that we will see if at some point it makes sense for them to exercise it,” the journalist said.
Odegaard signed for Real Madrid back in January 2015, arriving from Stromgodset in his homeland of Norway. Initially, the midfielder linked up with the club’s Castilla outfit while he also had loan stints away at Heerenveen, Vitesse and Real Sociedad.
While he played more than 60 times for Castilla, Odegaard managed just 11 senior appearances for Real Madrid, which played a part in him deciding to leave last year.
With Kroos and Modric now in the final phase of their respective careers, Los Blancos are looking to shake things up in midfield and are lining up a big-money move for Jude Bellingham.
As for Odegaard, he is thriving at Arsenal and even though Real Madrid might have a first refusal on him, it is unlikely that the either of the two parties are considering a reunion at this point.
In what could be a real deal breaker for Real Madrid ahead of their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg clash against Barcelona, it has been revealed that as many as three Barça will be absent from the game while another key player remains a major doubt.
The list includes the likes of Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Andreas Christensen. The trio is certain to miss the game through respective injuries while a certain Frenkie de Jong is more or less ruled out, as per Javi Miguel.
It must be remembered that Barcelona are heading into the second leg with a 1-0 advantage. But the absence of the aforementioned players means Madrid can work on exploiting the frailties.
Despite the absence of such big names, Barcelona did pretty well against Elche in their previous outing, coming out 4-0 victorious, with the goals coming from Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
With options lacking in midfield, Xavi decided to use the likes of Sergi Roberto and Eric Garcia along with Gavi in the heart of the lineup. In any way, they do have Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie as backups if needed.
The defence, on the other hand, was perfectly guarded by Jordi Alba, Marcos Alonso, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde.
One can expect Xavi to once again interchange Araujo with Kounde on the right since the Uruguayan has been rather successful in minimizing the threat of Vinicius Jr.
As far as Madrid are concerned, they are sweating over the fitness of three key defenders, namely, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, and Ferland Mendy. Between these three, the Frenchman is out for about a month while Rudiger and Nacho are expected to be back before the Clasico.
If there are no casualties against Real Valladolid, Madrid will have a perfect midfield and attack, with only Mariano Diaz missing.
