Arsenal
Fabrizio Romano update: Arsenal agree personal terms with player ahead of £34m move
Arsenal have agreed personal terms with Martin Odegaard over a 5 year contract and are on the verge of signing the midfielder from Real Madrid in a £34m deal
Arsenal have agreed personal terms with Martin Odegaard over a five year contract and are on the verge of signing the midfielder from Real Madrid in a £34m deal, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Mikel Arteta has been desperately trying to sign a creative midfielder this summer as he looks to strengthen his Arsenal squad following a disappointing campaign that saw them finish eighth in the table last season.
Odegaard enjoyed a successful six-month loan spell at the Emirates Stadium during the second half of last season and Arteta was keen to re-sign him but he returned to Real Madrid this summer hoping to establish himself under new boss Carlo Ancelotti.
However, the 22-year-old was left out of the squad for Madrid’s opening weekend win over Alaves and hasn’t been given a shirt number having not been registered in the official squad for this season – a clear indication that he’s not part of Ancelotti’s plans.
This was the encouragement Arsenal needed to make their move and and Romano says negotiations with Real Madrid have intensified in recent days with a £34m deal now believed to be close to completion.
Writing in the Guardian, Romano claims that Odegaard has now agreed personal terms with Arsenal over a five-year contract and several media outlets suggest that the Gunners hope to have the deal wrapped-up by the end of the week.
Arsenal would need to register Odegaard with the Football Association by midday on Friday for him to be eligible to face Chelsea so they’ll need to get things finalised swiftly if he’s to feature on Sunday afternoon.
Arteta gets his man
So it looks like Arteta is going to land his prime target for the creative midfield role and £34m sounds like an excellent piece of business by Arsenal for a player of Odegaard’s age and potential. David Ornstein even claims in his report for The Athletic that the fee is closer to £30m – although the £34m figure quoted in the Guardian may include add-ons.
Either, way it’s an excellent deal for Odegaard and the Norwegian playmaker should be a terrific long-term addition to the Arsenal squad. He’s desperate to play regular first team football and he’ll be given that opportunity to prove himself at the Emirates.
He only scored two goals and provided two assists in his 20 appearances last season but injuries disrupted his progress and he understandably needed some time to settle in England.
There will be no adaptation period this time so Odegaard should be ready to hit the ground running and he’s set to become Arsenal’s fourth major signing of the summer following the arrivals of Nuno Tavares, Albert Lokonga and Ben White.
