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Martin Odegaard has been dropped by Real Madrid from the club’s Castilla outfit, due to him not being able to settle in with the team fast enough.
The Norwegian teenager, who moved to Madrid in a transfer potentially worth €8 million, has been finding it a little difficult to adapt to life in the fast lane. Odegaard has been training with the first team throughout the week and then joins the reserve team during the weekend to play the matches, but it doesn’t seem to be working well for him.
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Odegaard’s career with Real Madrid Castilla started well, with the team winning his first match against Athletic Bilbao, while his second match saw him score and the team win 4-0 against Barakaldo. After that though, the team suffered four consecutive defeats, and then the 16-year-old left to play for Norway in the international break.
In his absence, Castilla won their first match 5-1, and then Odegaard was left out of the squad by coach Zinedine Zidane for the next match, which also resulted in a 2-0 win for them.
Him being dropped by Zidane from the Castilla team talks about the weird arrangement the club are working with, as it gives the player very less time to train with the reserve team, and hence he gets less time to absorb coach Zidane’s ideas. His tactical understanding is compromised, and language problems are another issue.
“Odegaard not very interested in playing for Castilla”
A report in the AS also said that, "Backroom staff feel that with Odegaard in the side Castilla play more like a team of 10 players." The same story also suggested that "some players have complained that the teenager 'can't be bothered' with his Castilla teammates and is only interested in being alongside Cristiano Ronaldo."
The attacking midfielder was bought by Real Madrid with the intention to fast-track his development and try and introduce him into the first team set-up soon, but coach Carlo Ancelotti has always preached caution and the need for patience, saying that the Norwegian will need time to develop.
Update: Odegaard has since picked up his form and has received his first call-up to the Real Madrid first-team squad ahead of their match against Almeria tomorrow night. The 16-year-old could make his debut for them and his inclusion will help mask the injury issues being suffered by the Real team, with Modric, Bale and Benzema all out of action.
Check out his skills:
