In the summer of 2012, a young teenager emerged out of nowhere. He was deemed to be the next biggest star in world football. Real Madrid snapped him up, but unfortunately, things did not go as per plan. He never gave up and continued to push himself. He is now the captain of Arsenal and is slow and steady, recognizing his potential.
The player is none other than Norway’s Martin Odegaard.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp mentioned keeping an eye on Odegaard’s development. Klopp has been an admirer of the midfielder since his days as Borussia Dortmund manager. Klopp admitted to trying to sign the player before Real Madrid ended up getting his signature.
Very few might be aware of this, but Odegaard had trained with Bayern Munich and Liverpool before he ended up in Madrid white. He also visited the Arsenal facilities back in 2015-16.
In an interview, Klopp told TV2, “I like him. It’s easy these days. It was a bit more difficult at the start of his career at Real Madrid. Then it looked like it might not go his way. I was disappointed because we wanted him in Dortmund when he was very young. We had a long conversation when he was still a boy, together with his father. In the end, he decided on Madrid, and that’s fine, but that’s why I’ve always followed him.”
It is unconfirmed but believed that Klopp was interested in getting the player to Liverpool when he was put on the market by Real Madrid. However, Odegaard joined League rivals Arsenal.
Odegaard is flourishing under Mikel Arteta and is one of the reasons that Arsenal is top of the Premier League table. Even though Klopp could not sign the midfielder, there are no hard feelings.
Do keep an eye out for the ‘Klopp Hug’ that Odegaard might get at the end of the match when Arsenal welcome Liverpool to the Emirates on Sunday.