Martin Ødegaard set for Ajax move

[Panna King]

Martin Ødegaard met with Ajax yesterday for talks,  it is not yet known if this would be 2 year loan deal or Ajax will sign him for a reported 20 million euros, after his impressive loan spell at Vitesse Arnhem.

https://www.telegraaf.nl/sport/3671510/odegaard-bracht-geheim-bezoek-aan-ajax

 

 

[True Blue]

Think he could do really well in a perspective young team, who play beautiful football.

[Panna King]

4 minutes ago, True Blue said:

Think he could do really well in a perspective young team, who play beautiful football.

He should of joined Ajax at the start, he would of been developed and looked after far better but his family choose money over development.

[True Blue]

3 minutes ago, Panna King said:

He should of joined Ajax at the start, he would of been developed and looked after far better but his family choose money over development.

Agreed however not sure he had much say in his current loan.

[Dr. Gonzo]

I hate this kid tbh and I hope he goes down as a fraud like Freddy Adu

[SirBalon]

On 31 May 2019 at 12:46, Panna King said:

He should of joined Ajax at the start, he would of been developed and looked after far better but his family choose money over development.

I remember all that... Everyone was telling him to join Ajax at the time but he was pushed by family members to go to Real Madrid (most notably his father who was offered a job at the club to influence it all) and the rest is history. The worst thing for Ødegaard is that when he went to Real, Zidane was the coach at RM Castilla (Real Madrid's 'B' team) and Zidane never warmed to him at all... Years later and Zidane is the head coach at the club which means the door is firmly closed in this respect of a future there.

[Panna King]

16 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

I remember all that... Everyone was telling him to join Ajax at the time but he was pushed by family members to go to Real Madrid (most notably his father who was offered a job at the club to influence it all) and the rest is history. The worst thing for Ødegaard is that when he went to Real, Zidane was the coach at RM Castilla (Real Madrid's 'B' team) and Zidane never warmed to him at all... Years later and Zidane is the head coach at the club which means the door is firmly closed in this respect of a future there.

Ajax will probably buy him for around 20 million euros now it is reported, Real Madrid have said if they do loan him out they would prefer he joined a Bundesliga team as he now has been in the Eredivisie for 2 seasons now, even though he wasn't great at Heerenveen, he has improved a lot for Vitesse.   Ajax see something in him and Overmars did say that Ajax is the best play for him as they can turn him in to a top player.

[Panna King]

Well it looks like Odegaard is set to complete a 2 year loan deal with Leverkusen,  The ex Ajax boss Peter Bosz has managed to persuade Odegard to join the German club.

[CaaC (John)+]

Wolves are monitoring Real Madrid's 20-year-old Norway midfielder Martin Odegaard. (Sunday Mirror)

[CaaC (John)+]

Solskjaer wants fellow Norwegian Martin Odegaard, 20, in his new-look team - but the Real Madrid midfielder is also on the radar of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. (Sun)

[Teso dos Bichos]

Martin Odegaard was the youngest Real Madrid player ever but is showing La Liga he's more than a piece of trivia

 

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain -- Martin Odegaard has spent his life listening to others talking on his behalf. He's tired of that now

 

He's bored of those he doesn't know or respect singing his praises and then writing him off. He's read the comments on social media where he is hailed as the second coming and then derided as a flop. He is aware that for the small amount he talks to the press, there will be a sensationalised headline back home in Norway. He ignores it all.

As we talk at Real Sociedad's idyllic training base in the heart of Basque Country, he shares these frustrations in the most understated way.

"Sometimes it can be [hard being Martin Odegaard]. I just try to focus on myself," he tells ESPN. "When I'm playing football, that's when I'm enjoying life the most. Football is the most important thing and I just want to do everything to reach my potential and be the best I can be."

Not surprisingly, the young midfielder still retains a youthful innocence when you meet him despite his rapid adolescence in Madrid. He pinches his neck, restless, as he picks over the inevitable questions of the pressures of being an archetypal "wonder-kid" and whether he will ever be a success at Real Madrid, having signed for the club at age 15 and become their youngest-ever player, a tag he still owns nearly four years later.

Then comes this beaming smile and it hits you: he's only 20. He has already played 20 times for Norway and in three separate leagues. He's also smashed all the records as the youngest Real Madrid and Norway debutant but that was when he was, as he puts it, a "child."

Before our interview, Odegaard was having lunch with Xabi Alonso, the legendary Spain midfielder who's now coaching Real Sociedad B. The youngster still has to pinch himself sometimes that he is rubbing shoulders with one of his heroes but the relationship is peer to peer. After all, Odegaard is there on merit.

Two days after we talked, Odegaard put in a Man of the Match performance against Atletico Madrid. He scored Real Sociedad's opener and swung in the cross that led to their second goal through Nacho Monreal. The Spanish press were, and continue to be, awe-struck by his form this season but for Odegaard, this was by design, not chance.

I feel I'm playing like more of an adult now," says Odegaard. "I feel like I'm creating more, running more, feeling stronger on the pitch, and I feel like it's part of growing up."

Let's get the inevitable question out of the way first.

He wants to play again for Real Madrid. There has been regular contact from the club. He is playing brilliantly for Real Sociedad, winning their Player of the Month award for August, and is here on loan for the season with the plan for another season to follow. His contract with Real Madrid was recently extended until 2022. He has no thoughts of signing elsewhere.

"My intention is to stay [at Sociedad] two years and I think that's important for me, too," says Odegaard. "I have had two seasons in a row where I've changed teams. To have some stability is good [and] this is a great club and hopefully we can get European football for next season."

Full article:

https://www.espn.com/soccer/spanish-primera-division/story/3945286/martin-odegaard-was-the-youngest-real-madrid-player-ever-but-is-showing-la-liga-hes-more-than-a-piece-of-trivia