Why a Loan Move to Celtic Would Be Ideal for Real Madrid's Martin Odegaard

Martin Odegaard arrived at Real Madrid in January on the back of a whirlwind tour of Europe’s top clubs. The 16-year-old was immediately placed with the B team, Castilla, who were then pushing hard for promotion from the Spanish third tier.

“He’s going to train with the first team and with Castilla, but he will play for Castilla until the end of the season,” the club’s director of institutional relations, Emilio Butragueno, said at the player’s unveiling. “He will do the pre-season with the first team and from there we’ll make decisions.”

The expectation was that Odegaard would help Castilla to promotion to the Segunda Division and then spend a season in the second tier before going loan to a top-flight side.

However, Castilla’s results worsened soon after his arrival. Per Soccerway, they have lost six and won just three of their 14 matches since the start of February. They are currently five points off the play-off places with just two games left to play.

It is highly likely Castilla will spend another season in the third division, which would be far from the ideal place for Odegaard to continue his development. Madrid would ideally have liked to keep him in-house for another year, but a loan move elsewhere now looks the most probable outcome.

And if that is the case, then Scottish champions Celtic, coached by Ronny Deila, the man who gave Odegaard his competitive first-team debut at Stromsgodset at 15, could represent the best option.

There is an argument that a team in a more technically focused league would represent a better choice. But it would be hard to find a team of Champions League standing willing to give Odegaard sufficient first-team football. There would be little incentive for a side like Ajax or Porto to give him the time and attention he requires.

Why would they waste time giving opportunities to a Madrid-owned 16-year-old when they have their own young talents who would also benefit from senior football?

The same argument would also apply to some of the top-flight Spanish clubs who would otherwise appear good fits. Villarreal were happy to take 24-year-old Denis Cheryshev on loan from Madrid this season as they believed, correctly, that he was capable of making an immediate impact in the La Liga. It is difficult to say with any certainty that the same would be true of Odegaard.

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Rayo Vallecano would be a good option if Paco Jemez was to remain in charge beyond the end of the season. They are based on the outskirts of Madrid, they play attractive and attacking football and their low budget means they are not in a position to quibble over the long-term benefits of each and every deal they make. They work on a season-to-season basis, picking up free transfers and loans to fill out their squad each summer.

However, Jemez is unlikely to continue at Vallecas. He recently told Bleacher Report’s Richard Martin that he will be a “free man,” come the summer. Brentford and other English clubs are said to be interested in securing his signature.

There is, then, some logic in allowing Odegaard to join Celtic for a year. They will play either Champions League or Europa League football next season and are coached by someone with whom he already has a pre-existing understanding.

“I have a good relationship with Martin and his father,” Deila told Brian Marjoribanks of the Scottish Daily Mail in January. His firsthand experience of working with Odegaard and his knowledge of the midfielder’s strengths and weaknesses could make him the best man to help develop his talent.

There is a degree to which what was said about Ajax and Porto also applies to Celtic. “We also want players that we own or can make money from,” Deila said in the aforementioned interview. Yet Odegaard would offer something slightly different to the club’s own academy graduates.

The small and technically accomplished midfielder could provide that little extra bit of ingenuity that is required to unlock some of the more obdurate defences Celtic face in domestic action.

“He is very special and every time he gets to a new level, he takes his chance,” Deila said last December, when asked whether Odegaard was ready for first-team football, as per John McGarry of the Scottish Daily Mail.

The young Norwegian could continue to receive regular Spanish lessons in Glasgow, while the experience of European competition would see him return to Madrid with a better idea of what is required to become a top-level professional footballer.

It remains possible that the club will seek out a Segunda Division side to keep Odegaard close to hand and assist his adaptation to the Spanish culture and language. But if they want to expose him to the highest level of football at which he is likely to get semi-regular opportunities, then Celtic represent the ideal option.