Martin Odegaard Calls Marcus Rashford 'Incredible,' Talks Real Madrid and More

Real Madrid's Martin Odegaard has hailed fellow teenage star Marcus Rashford as an "incredible player" after the Manchester United forward netted a hat-trick for England's under-21 side against Norway on Tuesday. 

Odegaard's side were on the wrong end of a 6-1 drubbing from England at Colchester’s Community Stadium with Rashford, 18, netting the opener just before the half-hour mark and adding two more after the break, continuing his stunning record on his various debuts, per Bleacher Report UK:

Despite the loss, 17-year-old Odegaard had only praise for his opponent after the match, per Gary Stonehouse in the Sun: "He is an incredible player as we saw. And we have seen that in the Premier League too. So I think he is just an incredible player."

BT Sport provided highlights of Rashford's goals:

Odegaard and Rashford are two of the brightest young attacking talents in world football, but they are currently enjoying contrasting fortunes.

United youth product Rashford burst on to the scene under former Red Devils boss Louis van Gaal last season when he scored a double on debut against FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League after he was drafted in as a late replacement for Anthony Martial.

He has since gone from strength to strength, earning a call-up to the England squad for the summer's UEFA Euro 2016 and would be hard not to pick for Saturday's Manchester derby at Old Trafford, one of the biggest matches of the Premier League season, per ESPN's Alex Shaw:

Odegaard, meanwhile, moved to Real from Stromsgodset amid much fanfare, having trialled at a number of top European clubs after becoming Norway's youngest-ever senior international in 2014.

His progress has stalled somewhat at the Bernabeu as he has failed to settle in their Castilla side, while he has made just one league appearance for the first team.

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

The youngster has, however, been included in Real manager Zinedine Zidane's squad for the UEFA Champions League and is now aiming to edge closer to the senior side, per Stonehouse: 

"

That is a good thing for me to be in that squad. Hopefully I can get some chances this year. I just have to continue to work hard and take my chances. Of course I want to play in the first-team—that is my goal. But I have a lot of time. I'm still only 17-years-old so I can take my time.

"

Per Stonehouse, Odegaard also responded, "maybe, maybe," when asked whether he could imagine himself lining up alongside Rashford one day in club football.

While they may not end up at the same club, it is certainly no stretch to think that Rashford and Odegaard could become two of Europe's top stars in the next decade.

Though the Manchester-born forward is currently grabbing more headlines than his Norwegian counterpart, Odegaard still has plenty of time to make good on his enormous potential.