Real Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard is tipped for another club departure after becoming frustrated with his lack of chances since returning to the Bernabeu this season. He may already be considering a return loan to Real Sociedad, where he spent last season.
Odegaard joined Real at the age of 16 in January 2015, after attracting the interest of several of Europe’s biggest clubs – including Manchester United, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, and became the youngest player in the game. club later this season.
However, the Norway international has spent the last few years securing loan chances elsewhere, first at Heerenveen, then at Vitesse Arnhem and most recently at San Sebastian in 2019/20.
The latter of those spells underlined his ability to make an impact in La Liga and he returned to Madrid ahead of the 2020/21 campaign, ready to finally make a breakthrough there.
Despite Real struggles as Zinedine Zidane tries to oversee a transition period, Odegaard hasn’t had the chances he dreamed of. The 22-year-old has only started three La Liga games and has had just five minutes since returning from a brief injury absence in mid-December.
According to Marca, Odegaard is no longer willing to accept it and has applied for a new loan. AS suggests that this is not an instantaneous or impulsive decision and that it is something the player has been evaluating for several weeks, having been sold to a different reality on his return to what he is experiencing.
A follow-up report from AS suggests that Odegaard is specifically interested in joining Real Sociedad and has already been in contact with the Basque club and some of his former teammates. The final straw in his decision to press for a transfer is having been excluded from the squad chosen for Wednesday night’s Copa del Rey fixture against lower league club Alcoyano.
He is clarified as a loan rather than a transfer suggests he is still determined to do so with Real for the long haul, having chosen them over so many in 2015.
But much to the player’s likely frustration, Zidane could refuse to let him go midway through the season. Odegaard’s return on loan this summer acted as a new signing when Real Madrid failed to bring in anyone else during a tough offseason and it is said that Zidane would at least prefer to keep numbers at the central attacking positions in case of injury crisis.
Odegaard is still under contract in Madrid until the summer of 2023.
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