Arsenal ‘fear Chelsea will hijack Odegaard’s transfer

Arsenal fear Real Madrid will demand £50million for Martin Odegaard this summer.

And the Gunners will reportedly face stiff competition from London rivals Chelsea.

Arsenal signed the midfielder on loan in January for a fee of £1.8m and he has produced some stellar performances since.

Real valued him at £30m at the time but refused to include an option-to-buy clause in the deal.

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And after his outstanding showing for the Gunners since, they are concerned Real will make them cough up £50m to bring him in on a permanent deal, according to the Star.

Whether Arsenal are able to do that remains to be seen.

But they fear a bidding war as they will likely lose out to Chelsea or Paris Saint-Germain who are also said to be keen.

Goals against Tottenham and Olympiacos, as well as a starring role in the comeback draw with West Ham, have made Odegaard an integral part of Mikel Arteta’s plans.

But recent reports also suggested Real may be hesitant to sell him the Norwegian at all.

Zinedine Zidane gave Odegaard his first run in the team at the start of the campaign but a knee issue and a lack of match action hindered his form.

With the coach unable to guarantee a regular role post-January, he was allowed to leave but no purchase option was agreed as part of his loan.

Madrid reportedly want to provide Odegaard with a fresh crack at proving himself at the Bernabeu.

The 22-year-old, who was signed as a teen prodigy in 2015 and excelled at Real Sociedad last term, accepted a pandemic pay cut before heading for North London.

And he is thought to be determined to prove himself at the Bernabeu, even if he is thoroughly enjoying his time with Arsenal.