Martin Odegaard was linked with an upgrade from the Eredivisie to the Bundesliga, but is hoping to give Real Madrid a close-up look with his third loan stint in as many seasons.
Not 21 until December, the once “next big thing” finally had a breakout campaign last season when he scored 11 goals and added 12 assists in 39 matches on loan from Vitesse.
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It was another step up after a decent but unspectacular loan stint at Heerenveen the previous season, and he reportedly turned down interest from Ajax in order to make his latest move.
So now it’ll be a move to La Liga despite links to Bayer Leverkusen, a German club who would’ve provided Champions League football to the playmaker.
Real Sociedad is the club in question and it’s a two-year loan for La Liga’s ninth place club last season. Odegaard will be managed by Basque Country mainstay Imanol Alguacil.
Odegaard has a goal and two assists in 18 caps for Norway. This is a big chance for him to impress Real, or impress someone else to make a big offer for the boy who once caused a bidding war amongst Europe’s biggest clubs at age 15.