The Odegaard case was finally decided as Arsenal completed the signing of the youngster from Real Madrid on a permanent deal. The Norway international who joined for an initial £30m plus bonuses worth around £4m, was in London on Wednesday undergoing a medical after the two clubs reached an agreement.
The 22-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan with the Gunners after failing to break into the Real Madrid team under Zinedine Zidane, and now returns to the Emirates Stadium on a five-year deal. Odegaard made his professional debut for Norwegian side Stromsgodset in 2014 as a 15-year-old. He moved to Real Madrid in 2015 and went on to become their youngest ever player, while he also achieved the same feat for Norway. However, he struggled for first-team football at Real and was sent on loan to Heerenveen, Vitesse and Real Sociedad before joining Arsenal. In six years at the Bernabeu, Odegaard made just 11 appearances for Real Madrid's first team, and he was not part of new manager Carlo Ancelotti's plans this season.
Odegaard - who will wear the No 8 shirt - was not available for Arsenal's Premier League clash with London rivals Chelsea on Sunday, match that saw the Blues taking a 2-0 victory. Asked what the 22-year-old will add to his squad, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: "A lot of things that he brought last season. He made us better, we needed more options and alternatives for creativity. He is still a really young man but he has huge experiences in clubs already and has unique talents for the way we want to play so I am really pleased the club have made the effort."
Neither club announced whether or not Real Madrid keeps some kind of options to bring hm back, but sources told the media before the deal was officially confirmed that Los Blancos will have a first-refusal option, meaning that if Arsenal ever decide to sell Odegaard, Madrid will be able to automatically match the offer they received in order to sign him again.
Real Madrid also made the official announcement about this transfer, writing as follows: “Real Madrid C. F. and Arsenal FC have agreed to the transfer of Martin Ødegaard. Real Madrid would thank to thank the player for his professionalism and exemplary behaviour shown during the time he has spent at the club. The club would also like to wish the player and his family the best of luck during the next stage of his career”.
The departure of Odeegard is very complex and needs some analysis to understand the impact on Real Madrid but one thing is certain: there are both positive and negative effects in this transfer. Martin Odegaard's imminent departure for Arsenal means Real Madrid will have undoubtedly profited from the youngster in a financial sense, but the player may also represent the potential failings of the club's strategy of signing prospects for the future.
Odegaard was signed as part of a conscious strategy on the part of the Merengue hierarchy to bring in the top young players around and develop them into Real Madrid starters. The scheme's most successful example is Raphael Varane, who was signed from Lens as an 18-year-old for a relatively modest 11m euros. He went on to become one of the world's top defenders. Casemiro is another symbol of the strategy's effectiveness, but we cannot say the same for Odegaard.
On the other hand, this transfer banked the club a net profit of around 36m euros in transfer fees and this may be very useful. Real Madrid has been experiencing financial issues like most of the teams because of the pandemic and has not been spending more than they should. The exit transfers have been decided as a good way to make cash and keep the balance. Also the cash may serve to add up the savings at the “piggy bank” which will be used for the upcoming transfers, as Kyliann Mbappe is being linked with the Merengues more and more.
At the end, it will certainly be the time that will reveal if this transfer will have more negative or positive effects for the club. However, Martin’s departure will probably leave a bad taste at the fans who often saw him as an important part of Real Madrid’s future.
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