Zinedine Zidane Says Real Madrid Have No Special Plans to Stop Martin Odegaard
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has no special plans for on-loan midfielder Martin Odegaard when Real Sociedad side travel to the capital for their Copa del Rey quarter-final on Thursday.
Odegaard, 21, is enjoying a productive campaign on loan with Basque outfit Sociedad, who make the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu hoping to cause a cup surprise in the last eight.
The youngster won't receive any special treatment from his parent club, however, and Zidane told reporters on Wednesday, per MailOnline's Kieran Jackson: "I haven't planned anything special. He's one of our players. We're really happy with how he has been playing at Real Sociedad. Tomorrow he will be our rival, and he'll be trying to help Real win. We've got to think about what we are going to do."
Odegaard joined La Real on loan until the end of the 2019-20 campaign in July, with the option to extend his stay at the Anoeta by another season.
Statman Dave highlighted his efficiency in the final third:
The puppeteer has scored five goals and recorded eight assists in 22 appearances for Sociedad in all competitions, playing the 90 minutes in a 3-1 defeat against his parent club in La Liga in November.
Odegaard is happy in his current setting and has shown a desire to remain with Sociedad for the potential two years of his loan spell. Per Roberto Ramajo of AS, he said: "I'm just taking each day as it comes, but that's the plan and it hasn't changed. I'm really happy here."
The Norway international has demonstrated a particular knack from dead-ball situations after impressing in that vein while on loan at Vitesse Arnhem last term.
He scored a decisive free-kick to put his side 3-0 ahead when they travelled to Osasuna in December:
OptaJose showed Odegaard's accuracy this season:
Real are unbeaten in 21 games across all contests ahead of their Copa del Rey quarter-final, having thrashed Real Zaragoza in late January during the previous round of the tournament.
Odegaard is one of the weapons among Imanol Alguacil's side who could threaten Real's hopes of reaching the semi-finals, with a chance to prove to his parent club what they're missing at the Bernabeu.
