Arsenal agree €40m deal for Real Madrid’s Martin Odegaard
August 18, 2021
Arsenal have agreed a fee with Real Madrid for Martin Odegaard, 90min has learned.
The 23-year-old will arrive in a deal worth €40m – just shy of £35m – making Odegaard the most expensive Norwegian of all time in the process.
While the two clubs have been talking, Real gave permission for Arsenal to engage in discussions with the player’s representatives and it is believed that personal terms are all but agreed.
Once the ‘finer details’ of the deal are finalised, Odegaard will sign a five-year deal in north London.
Odegaard spent the second half of last season on loan at Arsenal and impressed hugely, but he returned to the Spanish capital hopeful of earning a chance to push for a place in Real’s first team.
However during pre-season, it became apparent to Odegaard that he was not going to be pushing for a place under new Real boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Once Arsenal found out about the situation, they were quickly back in contact with Real, given he was always their number one target. Confidence quickly began to grow in their camp, and that was clearly well placed.
Odegaard has barely featured for Real since arriving from Strømsgodset in 2015. He has played less than ten games for their first team, spending much of his time away from the club on loan with the likes of Heerenveen, Vitesse Arnhem, Real Sociedad and Arsenal.
Now he is set for a permanent switch to London, and Arsenal are confident that the deal will be finalised before their huge weekend clash with Chelsea. To register him in time for that game, Arsenal must finalise the signing by lunch time on Friday.
The capture of Odegaard will also take Arsenal’s summer spending through the £100m barrier, having already landed Ben White, Nuno Taveres and Albert Sambi Lokonga – but they still hope to add more before the end of the month.
A goalkeeper is high on their agenda, with talks ongoing with Sheffield United over the arrival of Aaron Ramsdale.
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