Martin Odegaard: “Real Madrid is happy with me”

Vitesse’s season has finally ended after losing to Utrecht in the Eredivisie Europa League playoffs. After a standout season, Odegaard talked to VG about his prospects with parent club, Real Madrid, what he expects for preseason, and his development last season: “It has been a good year, I have made big strides and developed my game”.

He was then quick to point out that a drawn out preseason with Madrid and late move to a club are not part of his plans this year, “I don’t want what happened last summer to happen again. I want to go on vacation and enjoy a break, but I don’t want this summer to pan out like last summer”. Obviously Martin would prefer to integrate with a team and have the preseason to prepare and hit the ground running rather than taking the month of September to settle in to his next destination.

Prior to discussing a potential next move, Odegaard did note that there had been positive contacts from the club. “Real Madrid is very happy with me, but its difficult to play there and it probably will be the case next season as well. They’ve sold many with a re-purchase clause, I don’t care much, I just want to go somewhere where I have the opportunity to play and a coach who believes in me”, he concluded.

Another loan move or a sale with a buy-back clause, both mentioned by Odegaard, seem like the most likely options for next season. Reports suggest that Ajax and Bayern Leverkusen are the two most heavily interested sides at the moment.