Arsenal want to hold onto Martin Odegaard on a permanent deal but there’s no guarantee that Real Madrid will allow him to remain in the Premier League beyond the summer.
And if this was not problem enough then the likes of Chelsea, PSG and Liverpool have also joined the race to sign the 22-year-old, thereby pushing Arsenal further down the pecking order.
It seems like even Mikel Arteta is weary of this scenario which is why the Gunners are reportedly looking at French international Nabil Fekir as an alternative to Martin Odegaard.
According to a report by Goal’s Charles Watt, the North London side are in no hurry to talk business with Real Madrid but at the same time, they are keeping tabs on Nabil Fekir, in case, things go sideways with Odegaard.
Watts writes: “The north London club do not have a clause in the deal which would allow them to make the Norway international’s move but permanent, but have agreed with Madrid to discuss the situation in the summer.
“Ideally, Arsenal would like to sign the 23-year-old on a permanent basis, but it is currently unclear whether Madrid would be open to that or whether Arsenal would even have the funds to do a deal.
“Another season-long loan could be an option, but Goal can confirm that Arsenal are looking at Fekir as an alternative and have been keeping close tabs on him during his time with Betis in Spain.”
Nabil Fekir joined Real Betis from Lyon in 2019 and he still has two more years left on his current deal which reportedly has a release clause of €90 million.
This amount is very much out of reach for Arsenal but according to this very same report by Goal, Betis are willing to accept around €30 million for the 27-year-old this summer.
And if this price tag is true then Nabil Fekir will turn out to be a relatively cheaper alternative to Martin Odegaard.
Obviously, Arteta will look to secure the permanent signing of the Real Madrid loanee first since he’s done pretty well in England so far. But with clubs like PSG and Liverpool interested in him, the Gunners will have to work out of their skins to make this deal happen.
