Real Madrid To Not Sell Odegaard For He Can Help Lure $90M Striker To Bernabeu

Real Madrid reportedly are planning to keep hold of Martin Odegaard, who is currently on loan at Arsenal, in their attempt to bring Erling Haaland to Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid may not allow Arsenal to sign Odegaard permanently at the end of the 2020-21 season. Los Blancos are confident that he could help them convince his Norway teammate Haaland to join them from Borussia Dortmund, Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo reported.

Having spent a lot of time together at the Nordic team, Haaland and Odegaard have become good friends on and off the field and Real Madrid want to use this friendship to sign one of their top targets. Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola inserted a release clause in the player’s contract when he joined Dortmund from Salzburg. The young striker can leave Dortmund in 2022 if any club matches his release clause of $90 million. In addition to that, the report has also stated that the Real Madrid fans are already demanding club president Florentino Pérez do whatever it takes to sign Haaland.

Haaland, along with Kylian Mbappe, is tipped to be a future star in European soccer. The 20-year-old, who was born in Leeds, England, kickstarted his professional career at Norwegian top-flight league Eliteserien in 2017. He spent two years in the league, representing Molde FK, and scored 20 goals in 50 competitive matches.

Ahead of the 2018-19 season, Haaland’s talent had reached all the European corners and soon he was offered a contract by Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. He netted 29 goals in 27 matches in one and a half years before Dortmund beat the likes of Manchester United to sign the Norwegian sensation in the 2020 January transfer window. Haaland’s performance has not taken a dip yet as he has scored 41 goals in 42 matches for the German outfit since his Dortmund debut a year ago.

It was earlier reported that Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool FC are looking to hijack Real Madrid’s target, Haaland. The Reds are seeing Haaland as a solid No. 9 and a long-term replacement for Roberto Firmino, who has been linked with a move to Santiago Bernabeu.