Martin Odegaard: What's All the Fuss About Arsenal and Bayern Munich Target?

Stromsgodset's Norwegian footballing prodigy, Martin Odegaard (16), continues his much-publicised tour of Europe's major clubs.

One day, he is a lock to join Bayern Munich; the next day, he is training at Arsenal, per Matt Law at The Telegraph.

Do you get the nagging feeling that this junket is a dog and pony show aimed at increasing the visibility of Odegaard's brand during Norway's offseason?

There are five YouTube videos of Odegaard's highlights, one with over 2.1 million clicks, which have accrued 500,000-plus views each.

You and I may have spent about half an hour watching Odegaard on YouTube, but neither of us will be getting a request from the Verdens Gang to cover the Norwegian Tippeligaen next season.

Excluding Stromsgodset staff—Jan Aage Fjortoft, a former Norwegian international; Tor-Kristian Karlsen, a Norwegian who formerly was the chief executive officer of Monaco—and Norwegian football aficionados, our knowledge of Odegaard is limited.

It is restricted to someone else's opinion.

If you have not consistently watched Odegaard within the confines of an entire game, do not feel pressured to prematurely coronate him. 

Amid the Odegaard media circus, one observation has been ignored: Hans Erik Odegaard, a modest pro during his footballing days, seems to be living vicariously through his son, per John Sinnott at CNN:

"

I saw from a very early age that '[Martin] had the feeling.' ... Martin is training more than double than these boys did -- at least 20 hours a week. ... The expectations were high on him so it happened that I sometimes yelled at him and one day another parent came to me and said that I was too hard with Martin. ... We've always—and still do—talked so much about football. His natural understanding for the game makes him a very smart player. Since he was 10 [years old] I could discuss football with him as an adult.

"

Hans Erik never played for a big club, so parading Odegaard around Europe may have alleviated the fear of his son not being noticed. 

When Steffen Iversen moved to Tottenham Hotspur as a 20-year-old, then-Rosenborg manager Nils Arne Eggen scoffed at the transfer.

"We don't have young men with £2 million in their back pockets," Eggen said, per Jim White at the Guardian. "Iversen hasn't raised his game one bit since leaving Norway."

That is one of the primary concerns Hans Erik should have: Odegaard's development might stagnate at a big club. 

Let's say Odegaard transfers to Arsenal. 

• Dream: Assisting Alexis Sanchez at the Emirates Stadium.
• Probable Scenario: Passing the ball to Kaylen Hinds at Meadow Park.

Here is the pertinent question Hans Erik should ask Wenger: "What is the difference between your sales pitch to Havard Nordtveit and the one you are giving to my son?"

Nordtveit, at the time a 16-year-old, was being monitored by Ajax, Bordeaux and Manchester United, before Haugesund sold him to Arsenal for €2.5/£2 million, per Richard Bright at The Telegraph.

"It was very important to see that Wenger came to Haugesund to see me," Nordtveit said, per Arsenal TV (via YouTube, h/t TubeChop). "That was big for us in Norway and for me."

Nordtveit never made the grade at Arsenal.

Do you know how many 16-year-olds have played in Europe's main leagues this season?

Two.

2014-15 League Only	Club	Age	Minutes
Ilzat Akhmetov	Rubin Kazan	16	34
Bilal Boutobba	Marseille	16	6

Odegaard (1,454) played 1,414 more minutes than Akhmetov and Boutobba combined (40).

Receiving the second-highest Tippeligaen average match rating last season, per Verdens Gang, means it is logical for Odegaard to continue his forward trajectory at Stromsgodset next season.

Playing against men regularly in top-flight games is the one salient advantage Odegaard has over the prospects of 1998.

Sure, the Tippeligaen is the 26th-best league in Europe, per UEFA.com, but playing in Norway's top-flight is still more beneficial than the Barclays Under-21 Premier League or the Regionalliga Bayern.

It could be a psychological hurdle for Odegaard to be demoted back to playing against teenagers or to be grinding away in fourth-tier football.

Bayern Munich executive board chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has hinted that they are leading the chase for Odegaard's signature. 

"[Odegaard] is an interesting player, and we are out for him. Obviously a beautiful bride, and many grooms are waiting on the door step," Rummenigge said, per Deutsche Presse-Agentur (via tz.de, h/t Stephan Uersfeld at ESPN FC). "Maybe we are the best looking groom."

Bayern Munich signing a then-16-year-old David Alaba from Austria Vienna in 2008 is the reoccurring comparison to Odegaard being a hypothetical success story at the Bavarian giant. 

Another example you should know is former Ghanaian prodigy Samuel Kuffour, who had to deal with intense media scrutiny as a teenager, like Odegaard.

By signing for Torino as a 15-year-old, Kuffour inadvertently caused a furore, per Paul Darby and Eirik Solberg's essay Football development and patterns of player migration in South Africa and Ghana (h/t the book Football, Apartheid and Beyond).

Two years later, Kuffour was an Olympic medalist and one of the most sought-after centre-backs of his generation, per Osasu Obayiuwana at BBC Sport:

"

At first Bayern Munich didn't want to pay so much money. But Lothar [Matthaus] said 'If you don't want to pay it, I'll pay it myself. Then you'll see what this kid can do.' Throughout my life some people believed in me: my mother, Lothar Matthaus and Giovanni Trapatoni.

"

Kuffour has six Bundesliga medals and was a UEFA Champions League winner at Bayern Munich.

Odegaard represents the light at the end of the tunnel for Norwegian football, according to Stromsgodset manager David Nielsen.

"In bad times, you need a superhero," Nielsen said, per TV 2 [1]. "It looks like a 15-year-old [in Odegaard, now 16] is the closest [Norway has] got to a superhero."

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are superheroes. 

Whereas, Odegaard is a kid and Bundesliga football is sink or swim.

Alaba and Kuffour swam. 

Breno, Daniel Addo, Franco Zuculini, Nassim Ben Khalifa, et al. sunk and represent the broken dreams of imported wunderkinds.

It is better to be safe than sorry.

This is why Hans Erik should keep Odegaard at Stromsgodset until he is 20 years old.

If Odegaard is the creme de la creme, he will rise to the top even if he abstains from moving to Europe in the next few years, a la George Weah.

As a 22-year-old Liberian rookie at Monaco, Weah's "new teammates wondered why this guy in African robes was sitting in the dressing-room, until he changed into some kit and promptly went out and scored a wonder goal in training," per Amy Lawrence at The Observer (h/t the Guardian).

Weah later became FIFA World Player of the Year.

If Odegaard stays at Stromsgodset, give Hans Erik a round of applause—Citizen Kane style—because he would have taken Europe's elite on a ride just to boost his son's profile.

Conversely, Hans Erik is playing roulette with Odegaard's career if this expedition is to arrange a transfer away from Stromsgodset in the January window. 

[1] 15:38 - 15:45.

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