The Norwegian has put an end to his Real Madrid spell and joined Arsenal on a permanent deal after spending the latter half of the previous season on loan at the Emirates.
The North London club have confirmed the permanent signing of Real Madrid midfielder, who spent the last six months of the 2020/21 season on loan with the Gunner and he scored two goals in 20 appearances.
Martin Odegaard returned to the Spanish capital at the end of his loan spell – along with fellow Real Madrid-owned player Dani Ceballos – but decided to leave his parent club permanently earlier this month, despite the arrival of a new head coach.
The Athletic reports that Arsenal have paid Los Blancos an initial sum of 35 million euros for the playmaker, which could rise to 40 million with several add-ons. The player has signed a four-year contract with the club until 2025 with the option to extend it by twelve months. He will wear the number 8 shirt this season, the Gunners confirmed in Odegaard’s unveiling video.
The move is yet to be formally completed, thus the 22-year-old will miss Sunday’s Premier League game against Chelsea.
The transfer, nonetheless, should go through in the coming days, and the player is expected to be available for Arsenal’s subsequent match against Manchester City which will take place on August 28.
Odegaard made his professional debut aged just 15 for local side Stromsgodset, with whom he had been since he was 10. His quick rise through the youth ranks attracted the attention of top European clubs, such as Manchester United and Bayern Munich, but it was Real Madrid who beat the competition and signed him as a 16-year-old back in 2015.
However, in his six years at the club, punctuated with several loan spells, Odegaard only made 11 appearances for Los Blancos without scoring a goal. Nonetheless, he continued to perform strongly while out on his yearly loans, first with Heerenveen and Vitesse and later with Real Sociedad.
