Real Madrid Starlet Martin Odegaard Wants Liverpool Move

Norwegian wonderkid Martin Odegaard trained at Liverpool in 2014 while trying to decide where he would head to further his career. In the end, he turned down the chance to move to Anfield, picking Real Madrid over the Reds as well as Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Arsenal.

Two years later, and reports out of Spain that have since been picked up by the English tabloids claim the player’s father is hoping that Liverpool will now be open to taking the player. Not permanently, though. Just on loan. It’s a hope that Liverpool are highly unlikely to be willing to turn into a reality.

Odegaard has shown promise for Madrid in training, but the path to the first team is clogged at the Spanish giants, meaning the 17-year-old will be sent out on loan this season, with most reports suggesting a Bundesliga spell is in his immediate future. His father, though, is hoping for something else. For Liverpool.

Playing in England while training under the most respected German manager would be the best of both worlds as far as Odegaard’s father is concerned. The only problem is there seems little reason why such a move would appeal to Liverpool. The club, after all, are currently well stocked in attacking midfielders.

Odegaard may have promise, but right now he’s hardly better than Liverpool’s four primary players in his position—Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mané, and Adam Lallana. And there would be zero incentive for Klopp to give Odegaard minutes ahead of any of them for the sake of his development.

If he was a Liverpool then perhaps finding Odegaard minutes would make sense, but playing a player worse than those ahead of him on the depth chart for the sake of his development when it’s another club who stands to benefit if he does develop as expected would be ridiculously misguided on Liverpool’s part.

The same could be said for one of Liverpool’s own prospects like Sheyi Ojo. Odegaard is not right now a difference maker; he’s not going to decide a game against United or City. Given that reality, it would make far more sense for Klopp to play Ojo, the player whose development Liverpool would benefit from.

That Spanish reports claim his father is hopeful of Liverpool interest in spite of this reality can only mean one of two things. Either his father is hoping for an outcome with no grounding in reality, or the reports in Spain are fabricated out of air. Either way, Odegaard to Liverpool on loan is a laughable rumour.