Arsenal talisman Martin Odegaard has admitted that Erling Haaland is leaning on his knowledge of Real Madrid as he comes to a final decision over his future.
The Borussia Dortmund superstar looks destined to leave the Bundesliga this summer, with Europe’s top clubs all vying for his signature. Manchester City are said to be leading the race after reports claimed they had an agreement in place to sign the prolific striker.
And while those suggestions may be premature, there is a feeling the Premier League champions are best placed to land Haaland, whose £62.7million release clause is set to become active at the end of the season. There had been claims that the forward would need to tell Dortmund his plans before the end of April, something which head of licenced player department Sebastian Kehl refuted.
Speaking to DAZN, Kehl said: “There is no date and no statement about Haaland. A lot has been written in the last few days but much of it is not true.” So with his future still up in the air, the 21-year-old is trying to get as much advice as possible, including from international colleague Odegaard.
The Gunners midfielder joined Real Madrid aged just 15, struggling to ever make an impact at the Bernabeu, before finally departing for North London last summer. And the Norway captain has admitted the two have held talks, whilst also acknowledging that wasn’t necessarily out of the ordinary.
“We are good friends so we talk about lots of things, like when I was there. So yeah we talked about it but it’s not anything special,” Odegaard explained. In six years in the Spanish capital, Odegaard made just 11 appearances at Los Blancos and previously stated that leaving the club had finally given him the stability he had lacked for so long.
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"I've been through a lot even though I'm still young. I went abroad when I was very young and have been through lots of ups and downs. It helped me to be the adult I am today,” he told TV2 earlier this month.
"I definitely feel that. Arsenal is a nice, pleasant place to be. The club has given me peace and stability so that I have been able to establish myself somewhere, and not stress myself out about where I might be in the next transfer window. I feel at home here, I feel good".
With Haaland’s future the big story surrounding Norway’s two friendly matches with Slovakia and Armenia, manager Stale Solbakken has promised he will protect his star asset, with speculation swirling over his imminent transfer decision.
"Every word and every sentence he says would be twisted, and the translation would certainly be a bit speculative," Solbakken said, as reported by Sport1. "I don't want to pretend that it's not a problem - because it is."
Man City boss Pep Guardiola has taken a similar stance to Solbakken, refusing to comment on any speculation linking the Sky Blues with his signature, despite the need for a centre forward being clear going into the summer transfer window.
"Since I am here, every month or two months people say we are going to sign 50 players," Guardiola said last week. "Right now, listen, It’s impossible that I am going to talk about some guy who is not here. He’s a Dortmund player and we’ve an incredible run ahead of us.
"At the end of the season it is the transfer window and many things are going to happen. Maybe I speak about this club needing a striker for the next five, six, seven years, maybe once in the last 12 months.
“I’m not going to be the guy saying we are a success or not a success because we didn’t have a striker. We have to play good and arrive with seven or eight players in the box. This is the best way to score goals.”
