Man Utd bungled TWO golden opportunities to sign Odegaard

Stuart Telford

• 21 Jan 2023 05:25 CST
• 3 min read

Martin Odegaard could have been lining up for Manchester United against Arsenal on Sunday but he will be leading the Gunners out instead after the Red Devils botched two chances to sign him.

Odegaard has been one of Arsenal's best players this season, his eight goals and five assists helping Mikel Arteta's men to the top of the Premier League five points clear of champions Manchester City, having played a game less.

United are just three points further back in third, and Sunday's meeting arguably has the first authentically big game feel to it since the eras of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

READ: Odegaard's Arsenal form is elite - and it's permanent

A player like Odegaard could make the difference this weekend, but the Daily Star have outlined how that could have been happening for the other side at Emirates on Sunday.

"Back in 2013 when David Moyes was still manager, United invited Odegaard to spend some time at the club's Carrington training ground," they write. "Despite his supreme gifts, United decided to wait 12 months to see how Odegaard had developed. But it proved to be a mistake."

Eighteen months later, Odegaard joined Real Madrid from Stromsgodset for €2.6 million instead, but even that could have been circumvented had Louis van Gaal, one of Moyes' successors as Man Utd manager, offered Odegaard a better opportunity.

READ: Did Real Madrid make a big mistake selling Odegaard to Arsenal?

First-team training

"The Dutchman's mission was to persuade Odegaard that United was his best option, but was left stunned when the precocious youngster insisted one of his conditions was he wanted to train with the first team from day one.

Odegaard wanted to learn from the best straight away, but Van Gaal refused and the deal was dead in the water."

Odegaard only made 11 senior appearances for Real and was sent on loan to Heerenveen, Vitesse Arnhem and Real Sociedad before arriving at Arsenal, initially also on loan, in January 2021.

They subsequently made that deal permanent for €40m that August and that is already beginning to look like a steal, while United can only wonder what might have been.