Report claims Arsenal could miss out on permanent Odegaard signing after ESL fallout

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Arsenal could reportedly miss out on signing Martin Odegaard on a permanent deal after the fallout of a proposed European Super League has soured relations between Premier League sides and Real Madrid club president Florentino Perez.

According to The Sun, the Gunners ‘fear’ they won’t be able to make Odegaard’s loan signing a permanent one with Perez said to be ‘furious’ at Premier League teams for the role they played in the collapse of the European Super League, which was announced last Sunday but by Tuesday night was dead in the water as every English team set to compete in the competition dropped out as reported by BBC Sport.

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The report claims that Arsenal were hoping to sign the Norwegian international for around £25m, but following the collapse of the European Super League, Perez could now make it difficult for the Gunners to bring Odegaard in on a full-term basis out of spite given how eager the Madrid president is for there to be a European Super League, which the La Liga side have still not officially pulled out of, along with Barcelona and Juventus as reported by BBC Sport.

Odegaard has had an enjoyable spell in north London since joining from Madrid in the January transfer window, with the 22-year-old midfielder making 14 appearances for Arsenal, scoring twice and filling out the creative void the club had been missing for most of the season well.

TBR View: Real Madrid debt could force their hand into selling Odegaard

With Real Madrid reportedly in just over €900m (£784m) worth of debt according to Sport, the La Liga giants are in massive need of moving recouping funds if they are to begin lowering this fee to a more manageable level, and moving on players with hefty wage bills would be the perfect place to start in achieving this, and this could force the club into selling Odegaard to Arsenal.

The playmaker has only ever played 11 times for Madrid since joining the club as a 15-year-old, three fewer appearances than what he has currently achieved on-loan with Arsenal, and with a reported weekly wage of £85,000 according to Salary Sport, shipping off Odegaard will save Los Blancos just over £4.4m a year on the payroll.

Odegaard has brought creativity to Arsenal when they have needed it the most, and although Perez’s fighting words might put the Gunners off a permanent deal for the youngster, Real Madrid could be forced into letting the playmaker go due to their enormous debt that will have to be paid, one way or another.