Arsenal brought in Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid on a short-term loan deal in January and the 22-year-old has made a really positive impact in such a short period of time.
And after his performance vs West Ham United last weekend, there have been rumours that Mikel Arteta has made up his mind to hold onto him on a permanent basis.
Martin Odegaard is yet to make up his mind on his future but according to Tim Sherwood, the Gunners will be able to hold onto him if they can win the Europa League.
“I think this kid Odegaard has really come to life,” said Sherwood. “I like him. I think he’s very dominant on his left side. There is still time for him to develop and come onto his right side.
“The young boys (at Arsenal). I think they have some exciting players. But it’s all about the consistency.
“I think they would love to sign him if they possibly could. I would definitely sign him. I think Odegaard might only come to Arsenal if they finish in the Champions League, which means they need to win the Europa League
“They aren’t going to finish in the top four. Possibly another year on loan, it gives them another season to look at him and Odegaard another year to look at Arsenal. Ideally, Mikel Arteta would like to get him signed.”
The 22-year-old has claimed that he wants to play regular football and whichever team can offer him that, he will be inclined to play for them next season.
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“I haven’t thought about what’ll happen in summer,” he told VG, as quoted by TEAMtalk. “My deal with Arsenal is until the end of season. We’ll see what happens this summer.”
“I’ve said things before that I still stand for: Stability and development are key words.”
And if Arsenal can lift the Europa League with Martin Odegaard being a key figure in the starting line-up then there’s a big chance he will not be heading back to Real Madrid.
The Premier League side are reportedly willing to pay around £40 million for him in the summer and if the Norwegian can keep performing with the same intensity for the next few months then this price tag will be a bargain.
