Martin Odegaard joining Real Sociedad on two-year loan from Real Madrid

Real Madrid have extended Martin Odegaard’s contract and he will join Real Sociedad on a two-year loan agreement, according to Diario AS.

It was reported previously that the Norwegian would choose between La Real and Bayer Leverkusen, but he preferred to remain in Spain and will now join the club without a purchase option.

The latest report states “the agreement is also total, everything is negotiated, but not drafted and outlined,” so an announcement may be delayed until next week.

“We have been talking to him for three months,” La Real president Jokin Aperribay confessed to Radio Marca last week.

Multiple reports had said the player was on the verge of joining German side Bayer Leverkusen with Marca last week citing Norwegian station TV2 which claimed that player and his father were at the Düsseldorf airport and travelling to Bayer’s stadium.

De Telegraaf say Ajax have discontinued their pursuit of the player after a series of discussions and now his future looks set to be in Spain.

The reports linking Odegaard to the Basque club may mean Real Sociedad do not sign Denmark youth international Andreas Skov Olsen from Nordsjælland.

Bayer sporting director Simon Rolfes has previously said that Odegaard “is an interesting player,” while Dutch newspaper Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad say he will join Leverkusen.

The 20-year-old netted 11 goals across 34 appearances in a stellar campaign on loan at Vitesse, leading to speculation that he could be included in Madrid’s first-team squad.

Madrid signed Odegaard, then aged just 15, from Norwegian club Strømsgodset in 2014 but he has featured just twice for the club since with his last appearance against Cultural y Leonesa in November 2016 in a Copa del Rey clash.

Ajax were said to have already made a €20m offer for the player but Los Blancos are insistent that they will not sanction a permanent exit, even though the Amsterdam-based club included a buyback clause.

Madrid are said to have favoured an exit to the Bundesliga, which they see as a stronger league and one which holds greater similarities to La Liga.

This is where Bayer Leverkusen come in, with Dani Carvajal previously having a successful stint there before returning to Madrid’s first team.

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