Arsenal
Arsenal want to sign ‘incredible’ £42m star as Arteta looks to secure key target
Arsenal remain keen on signing Martin Odegaard after failing to progress talks over James Maddison and Real Madrid are willing to sell at £42m this summer
Arsenal remain keen on signing Martin Odegaard after talks over a deal for James Maddison stalled and Real Madrid are willing to sell at £42m this summer, according to football.london.
Mikel Arteta has been working hard trying to strengthen his squad in recent weeks after a disappointing 2020/21 campaign and he’s already brought in centre-back Ben White, left-back Nuno Tavares and midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga.
However, the Arsenal boss knows he needs further reinforcements if they’re to push for the European places next season and a creative midfielder is a priority as the north Londoners have struggled for ideas in the final third at times.
The Gunners have been strongly linked with a move for Maddison this summer but football.london says negotiations over a potential deal have been slow and little progress has been made in trying to secure a deal with Leicester City.
The report says Arsenal are reluctant to meet Leicester’s £60m valuation and the Foxes have rebuffed attempts to discuss a potential player plus cash swap deal so talks to sign Maddison have stalled.
According to football.london, the impasse has led to Arsenal renewing their interest in signing Odegaard with Arteta believed to be desperate to be reunited with the Norwegian international this summer.
Odegaard enjoyed an impressive spell on loan at the Emirates Stadium during the second half of last season and it initially looked as though he would be staying with Madrid to try and establish himself under new boss Carlo Ancelotti.
However, the 22-year-old has failed to impress in pre-season and has yet to start any of Real Madrid’s friendlies with Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Federico Valverde, Casemiro and Isco all seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order.
It’s sparked speculation that Odegaard could be on the move after all with football.london suggesting the playmaker is open to leaving the Bernabeu in search of regular first team football and Arteta is desperate to sign him on a permanent basis if a deal is there to be done.
According to the report, Real Madrid are willing to do business if £42m is put on the table – which is £18m less than Leicester want for Maddison – but Arsenal would probably try and drive that asking price down given Madrid’s financial issues.
Arteta always spoke very highly of Odegaard during his time in north London last season and hailed his ‘incredible’ performance during Arsenal’s 3-0 win against West Ham back in April. Arteta is quoted by football.london as saying:
“I think he [Odegaard] had an incredible performance. I think he was very intelligent the way he read the game, the way he affected the game and again he showed how much he wanted to win.”
Arteta is keen to work with Odegaard again and it looks like the Norwegian youngster is on the market this summer but it remains to be seen whether Arsenal will be able to strike a deal with Real Madrid.
