Arsenal complete €35m Odegaard transfer from Real Madrid

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 20 Aug 2021 08:22 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal have completed their move to sign Real Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard for €35 million (£30m).

Odegaard, who was at Arsenal on loan last season, could ultimately cost the Gunners €40m if certain bonuses are met.

He becomes the club’s third major signing of the summer, following Albert Sambi from Anderlecht and Ben White from Brighton.

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A statement from the club confirms: "Martin Odegaard has joined us in a permanent transfer from Real Madrid.

"The Norwegian international re-joins after spending the second half of last season on loan with us, during which time he made 20 appearances, notably scoring in our Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium in March."

Alternatives studied

Leicester’s James Maddison was seen as an alternative to Odegaard, though the Foxes’ asking price for the England star proved too much for Arsenal to consider.

Even earlier in the window, they had chased Norwich star Emiliano Buendia only to be beaten to him by Aston Villa.

Equally, though, Real Madrid had a harder stance on keeping Odegaard at that time. With it evident that had softened, Arsenal returned to secure the addition of the 22-year-old.

Odegaard featured 20 times for Arsenal during his loan stint last season across matches in the Premier League and Europa League. He scored a single goal and laid on two more assists in that time.

Manager Mikel Arteta will expect his new addition to be more productive over the course of his permanent stay at the club, with Arsenal having toiled offensively in recent months.

Odegaard joins Arsenal under some pressure to make an immediate impact, with the Gunners having lost their opening fixture 2-0 to Brentford and a derby against Chelsea looming on Sunday.