Martin Odegaard Bemoans Lack of Opportunities at Real Madrid

Martin Odegaard has said the lack of opportunities he has received at Real Madrid has not lined up with his expectations when he joined the club as a teenager.

The Norway international signed for Real in January 2015 at the age of 16, but he has made just two senior appearances for them and is now on loan with Vitesse Arnhem.

He told Norwegian TV station VG (h/t Sport): "When you go to Real Madrid, you always have expectations. I had the hope of getting more chances than I did, I can't hide that. I've always known it would be very tough."

He added: "I have many years to go and still five or six to see the best of myself in my career."

The midfielder arrived at Real after visiting—and, at times, training with—Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Bayern Munich, having broken into Stromsgodset's first team back in Norway.

He subsequently spent two years with Real Madrid Castilla. His only first-team appearances were as a substitute against Getafe in the final La Liga match of the 2014-15 season and a Copa del Rey start against Cultural Leonesa in November 2016.

In January 2017, he joined Eredivisie side Heerenveen on an 18-month loan spell. A broken metatarsal in April this year cut that a little short, but he made 43 appearances for the Dutch side, scoring three times and assisting five goals.

Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

Odegaard, who turned 20 on Monday, recovered to play three times for Real at the International Champions Cup in the summer.

However, that was likely because many of their players had not yet returned to training following the FIFA World Cup, and he was sent to Vitesse for the season.

He has made 15 appearances thus far and has three goals and two assists to his name. One of those goals was a sublime free-kick against Utrecht in November:

Football writer Ashwin Raman has been impressed with his form so far and shared some insight into his numbers:

Odegaard is showing some of the potential that prompted a number of elite European sides to take an interest in him as a teenager.

Returning to Real and breaking into their side will be difficult, but he's still young and could have a bright future ahead if he can maintain his good form.