Real Madrid need to give Martin Odegaard one thing above all else

Real Madrid attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard has been on a long footballing journey since signing with the biggest club in football as a much-hyped 16-year-old prospect. Years on loan made him lose some luster to casual fans, but those plugged-in to his spells in the Netherlands understood that Odegaard was taking all the right steps as a young footballer.

Odegaard then broke out in a big way in the 2019-2020 season for Real Sociedad. He was one of LaLiga’s best players throughout the first half of the campaign before suffering a knee injury. And he impressed Real Madrid so much that Zinedine Zidane asked for his return in 2020-2021 when no signings were possible.

The 2020-2021 season did not go the way Odegaard wanted it to, so he asked for a loan to Arsenal in the winter. While he had some good moments in North London, Arsenal didn’t achieve their goals, Odegaard didn’t start in every game, and the whole thing didn’t sit well with Madridistas. They preferred for Odegaard to stay and help the team in the title race instead of playing meaningless minutes for a club he is probably not going to stay with for longer.

Why did Odegaard want a loan? Minutes. Why was he so coy about returning to Real Madrid? I wonder if he does not feel wanted or valued by the club that has sent him on loan after loan, and then did not have a clear progression or integration plan for him. Odegaard is not blameless and maybe could have been more patient with such a competitive side, but you have to see things from his perspective and understand that, especially as a young player, he needed more support.

Martin Odegaard needs stability from Real Madrid going forward

In a recent interview, Odegaard used one important word that I think sums up the issue here.

“Stability”.

Martin Odegaard wants stability.

And why wouldn’t he? As he noted in the context of stating this word in the interview, he has moved around a lot in recent seasons. Every single year, he’s been loaned to a new club. Before his return to Real Madrid, he was actually supposed to be at La Real for a second season! So you can imagine his frustration when he got the “big call” from Los Blancos and barely played for a half-season. He could have been “the guy” again for La Real, which is a great LaLiga side in its own right!

Real Madrid have already lost Zinedine Zidane after failing to support him as a human being. They cannot afford to make the same mistake with Odegaard, who is in an even more delicate situation as a developing player.

Stability. Trust goes with that, too. That’s what Real must give to Odegaard, above anything else, in the 2021-2022 season. They need to tell him exactly what his role is, what their expectations are of him, and give him a stable situation in the first team.

Otherwise, Odegaard could decide he wants more than just a loan out of Madrid. He could decide to pack his bags and go to a team that is willing to make him a consistent, valued member of the first team. And that would be both devastating and embarrassing for Los Merengues.