Checking in on Real Madrid loanee, Martin Odegaard
By Ben Sundock
He has been on loan for a year now in Holland playing for mid-table side, SC Heerenveen. Despite his upcoming return to Real Madrid this summer, many fans have forgotten about midfield prodigy Martin Odegaard. Here is how the 19-year-old has been doing this season in the Eredivisie.
While many Madridistas may have forgotten that Odegaard is still owned by Los Blancos, the young Norwegian international is continuing his development north of Spain in the Dutch league.
Known for his dribbling and ability to create chances, Martin is still the young phenom everyone wants to take pictures with, get autographs from, and talk to. But, he may not feel he is in right the place right now.
After all, he is the youngest player to ever play for the first-team of a team in Norway and in Spain.
“All of the noise that surrounded Odegaard for a year has disappeared. Soccer, impatient, has moved on to other prodigies,” Rory Smith of The New York Times writes. “As Odegaard — still just 19, still baby-faced — dutifully signs autographs and poses for pictures on a bitterly cold night in this city in the north of the Netherlands, it is impossible not to think that he is a long way from Real Madrid, a long way from where he was meant to be.”
While Odegaard might feel he is deserving of the spotlight he received in the Spanish capital upon his arrival in the winter of 2015, Real Madrid is happy with his development and regular playing time with Heerenveen.
This season is proof enough that this has been a worthwhile loan for the rising star. He has started in 23 of the 28 league matches thus far playing over 2,000 minutes.
In all 23 of those appearances, Odegaard has started as a right winger on the forward line despite being listed as a center attacking midfielder.
To many, his stats will be incredibly underwhelming. Martin has scored just two goals and assisted on just one. Plus, his pass accuracy is rather low (80.9%) for a guy who has been hailed for his vision and chance creating.
Despite having just two goals this season, Odegaard scored a stunning goal a week ago against Ajax to tie the match.
This is a perfect example of what Martin Odegaard’s time on loan in Holland has been like. Flashes of brilliance that excites the fans, followed shortly thereafter by an immature mistake.
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Yet, the future is bright still for this kid. He has the technical ability and the foot-skills that will make any manager in Europe salivate, but it is the mental aspect that still needs work.