Arsenal have finalized their signature to attack Real Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard.
The 22-year-old was one of the hottest builders of European football when he joined Real Spanish giants from Stromsgodset six years ago.
Here, PA news agency takes a closer look at the Norwegian international following his transition to the Premier League.
He made his debut in Norway at the age of 15
Odegaard was born in the Norwegian port city of Drammen – about 27 miles southwest of the capital Oslo – in December 1998. 15-years and 253 days on and the talented youngster was pushed to the stage international. He became the youngest player in Norway – an achievement that remains – after playing the full 90 minutes of a goalless friendly draw with the United Arab Emirates in August 2014. He has already He won 25 caps and has aimed to win his national team during the Euro 2020 Qualifiers draw with Romania in June 2019.
His father joined Real at the same time
Hans Erik Odegaard had a less obvious professional career than his son and never represented his country. However, that did not stop the Odegaard chief executive – who also played as a midfielder, for Stromysgodset and Sandefjord – at the same time moving to the Spanish capital in January 2015. During transfer talks , the 47-year-old got a job as Real Madrid. youth coach. He proved to be a capable referee and reportedly earned more than Real boss Zinedine Zidane, who was then head coach of the club’s reserve team.
He is the youngest player in Real history
After joining Real a month after his 16th birthday, Odegaard’s main debut for the Spanish side came in May 2015 when he retired from the bench to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, who was a good club. . Ronaldo, Real ‘s best goalkeeper, got a break he earned with 32 minutes left after hitting a hat – trick in LaLiga’s 7-3 defeat of Getafe. The appearance of a cameo under the control of Carlo Ancelotti made Odegaard the youngest debater in Real history at 16 years and 157 days old – a record he holds.
He liked Lionel Messi
Odegaard seems to have been quiet about it since moving to Madrid but, according to a former youth coach in his home country, he was a huge admirer of the star player of his parents ’biggest rivals. Harald Johannessen says the new Gunners grew up idolizing Barcelona and Argentina ahead of Lionel Messi. “He was always watching Messi, I remember that,” Johannessen said in a 2019 interview with These Football Times magazine. “He likes Messi, so that was a little weird – he likes Messi and he’s going to Real Madrid.”
He is no stranger to loan transfer
Major clubs across the continent ran Odegaard before he chose the Bernabeu. He has yet to make his mark with the 13-time European champions and, having been restricted to just three leagues starting this term, has been loaned out for the fourth time. . Arsenal are undoubtedly the top club he has joined for a while after spells at the Dutch sides Heerenveen and Vitesse Arnhem and in LaLiga with Real Sociedad. He showed a lot of promise while living in the Basque region and now has a bigger platform to dispel the hype that has had a huge impact on his new career.