Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard transfer hopes altered by Zidane

What Will Happen With Martin Odegaard?

Whoever takes over in the dugout will have their own ideas, those that no other player or onlooker can know. Not in terms of personnel, anyway.

Odegaard’ recent dip in form – which hasn’t been as bad as widely suggested while his impressive spell could well have been overhyped – won’t have impacted his transfer fee, which is said to remain around the £35m-£40m. That’s big money. Especially for Arsenal.

The incoming Madrid manager won’t need refreshing of the torrid financial situation the club finds itself in, sitting in a cool €900m worth of debt, so player sales will be essential to their plans not least if they want to somehow wrangle their way to the signing of either Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe.

Equally, plenty of the Madrid engine room is not getting any younger and with reports out of Spain – that generally need taking with salt – stating that Odegaard is an essential piece of the club’s future planning, they could do far worse than an on-song version of him.

Selling still remains a possibility, but not for Arsenal with the prices previously mentioned.

Odegaard has adapted to the Premier League exceptionally quickly. Getting up to speed with the division, the physicality and his teammates, that impressive integration has arguably also proven his downfall with the criticism he’s received of late being that he hasn’t maintained that standard.

Injuries haven’t helped and with a pre-season behind him and less of the dire mood around Arsenal next season, he has the scope to be an important tool in the push for a top four place.

Not for £40m, though. Even £35m. That’d be parting with an considerable chunk of the meagre budget and even if there is genuine talent there and the signs of a player well suited to Mikel Arteta’s vision, it’s too much to part with.

The new Madrid manager may block such a move entirely upon his arrival or open the door for a permanent exit, so it may be irrelevant regardless. Yet even if all the variables fall Arsenal’s way, with the three parties keen on a reunion, this sum of money is too steep with the multitude of areas in need of seeing to.

It’d have to be negotiated far, far lower.