Martin Ødegaard should have a place at Real Madrid next season
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid loanee Martin Ødegaard has now spent two seasons in the Netherlands and delighting footballing fans at every turn. Having played great for Vitesse all season, the 20-year-old playmaker deserves a chance to stay and play for Zinedine Zidane.
Young Martin Ødegaard has not had a fair chance to feature for or break into the first team lineup at Real Madrid since he joined the club nearly four years ago. Ødegaard has featured in just two senior team matches, coming on as a substitute in the final match of the 2015/2016 season in a 7-3 win over Getafe and in the Copa del Rey round of 32 in the fall of 2016 and played the full 90 minutes.
During his second straight year on loan in Holland, Ødegaard is beginning to bud into the star Real Madrid saw when scouting him in 2015. While his club Vitesse is stuck in mediocrity in seventh in the table, Ødegaard continues to show incredible promise and poise when called upon by his manager.
His boss, Leonid Slutsky, is a veteran in of the game and has figured out that the best way to play the Norwegian international is on the right wing instead of centrally in the midfield. Wow has that slight position change improved Ødegaard’s exponentially.
Martin has scored six goals and assisted on six this season making 25 starts and two substitute appearances in league play. Ødegaard has also been receiving more and more playing time with the Norwegian senior team and played a key role just a couple of weeks ago in Euro qualifiers against Spain and Sweden.
Slutsky’s decision to use Ødegaard primarily on the right side has made him even more deadly on the attack as he helps draw defenders away from the front of goal and can pass teammates into space.
His dribbling and smarts on the ball have significantly improved in this season alone. Look no further than his 3.4 key passes per match and an average pass completion percentage just under 80.
It would be safe to say that Martin Ødegaard has been probably the best player for Vitesse throughout this league campaign thanks in large part to the extraordinary amount of chances he is able to create. He has been so good, in fact, WhoScored has named him the man of the match seven times.
Defender Maikel van der Werff ranks second on the team in MOTM’s with two.
Given the time Ødegaard has dedicated to Real Madrid and the great improvement he has shown while on loan these last couple of seasons, I don’t see why either president Florentino Perez or Zinedine Zidane would not want to bring him back.
Regardless of what happens to James Rodriguez and Mateo Kovacic, Martin Ødegaard has proven that he can at least be a rotational player much like Fede Valverde or Dani Ceballos.
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The one argument that could be made against his return is the surplus of players who already play in the midfield. Players like Isco, Ceballos, and Marcos Llorente usually don’t get the time they deserve and adding another young face to the pack could hurt his development.
Based on what Vinícius Júnior has been able to do when his name is called upon – I am not comparing Ødegaard’s skill set to that of Vinícius – I think the Norwegian international can rise to the occasion and have a very similar rise to stardom in Spain.
Keep a watchful eye on Martin during the preseason this summer!