No chance of a Real bargain
ODEGAARD PRICE FEARS
ARSENAL fear Martin Odegaard’s transfer fee will rocket to £50million this summer.
The on-loan Real Madrid playmaker, 22, has become a regular in Mikel Arteta’s line-up since his arrival in January.
While it is no secret the Gunners hope to make the deal permanent in June, the more the Norwegian star shines at the Emirates, the more he is going to cost.
Real already value Odegaard, who they signed for £2.5million as a 15-yearold, at £30m when letting him join Arsenal for the rest of the campaign.
Tellingly, though, the Spanish champions refused to include any option for the Premier League club to buy him outright.
And that is proving a wise decision with Odegaard’s increasingly impressive displays pushing his fee up all the time.
Now it could seriously scupper Arteta’s chances of securing him – especially with rival clubs now preparing to enter the race.
Real may well decide he does have a long-term future at the Bernabeu, after all. However, whether Odegaard will see it that way, should Zinedine
Zidane remain as coach, is another matter.
Yet even if the Frenchman keeps his job, the Gunners know they will have to fend off interest from the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool as well as Paris Saint-germain.
Arteta is optimistic the faith he has shown in Odegaard over the last three months means they are in pole position.
But the last thing he needs is for a summer auction to kick in, as Arsenal cannot compete financially against the likes of Chelsea or PSG. In the shortterm, though, there is some good news for Arteta regarding Odegaard, who has scored twice in 12 appearances for the Gunners.
He hobbled off in Norway’s midweek World Cup qualifier win against Gibraltar, but his national boss Stale
Solbakken has confirmed the ankle injury sustained is “not too serious.”