Arsenal’s hopes of keeping midfielder, Martin Odegaard, at the Emirates have taken a decisive blow with new Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelott, ready to welcome the Norwegian back into his squad ahead of next season, Spanish newspaper ABC reports.
Odegaard is currently on loan at Arsenal from Real Madrid after he failed to feature regularly in former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane’s squad.
The 22-year-old thrived impressively at Arsenal in the second half of the campaign under the Gunners manager Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal had hoped to secure either a permanent deal or another loan for Odegaard.
Real Madrid appoint Carlo Ancelotti as manager
But Ancelotti’s return to Real Madrid has effectively ended those plans as the former Everton boss is keen to include Odegaard in Real Madrid’s first-team squad next season.
Speaking about Odegaard at his unveiling on Wednesday, Ancelotti told reporters, “When Florentino [Real Madrid president] buys a Norwegian footballer [Odegaard], you simply have to accept it. Furthermore, the president decided that he would play three games with the first team as a public relations exercise.
“He could be the best player in the world, but I don’t care because he was not a player who I asked for. That signing was to do with PR.”
Real Madrid give Arsenal two conditions to make Odegaard deal permanent
