How loan deals helped Martin Odegaard achieve his rich potential

Real Sociedad

Odegaard returned to Spain in 2019

After two successful spells in Holland it was time for the next stage of Odegaard's development which meant bringing him back to Spain.

This would be a key test of the talented young players credentials and would shape whether or not he had a long term future with Real Madrid.

The team chosen for Odegaard was Real Sociedad. He signed for one season with the option for another year.

It would be fair to say that he hit the ground running at his new club and his outstanding start to the season saw him voted La Liga player of the month in September 2019.

At time of writing, he has made 23 appearances for a total of nearly 2,000 minutes. Impressively he has scored six goals and has eight assists. He has become a vital part of what makes Sociedad tick, with an impressive pass completion percentage of 84.2%.

They are currently in sixth place in the league, and perhaps most impressively are now hot favourites to make it to the final of the Spanish Cup, a two legged semi final against second division CD Mirandes, reward for an amazing victory over Odegaard's parent club Real Madrid in the quarter final, in which the Norwegian opened the scoring.

It is surely only a matter of time before Real Madrid make him a key part of their team. With Luka Modric expected to leave this summer and Toni Kroos not getting any younger, don't be surprised to see Odegaard's name on the Zinedine Zidane's team sheet at the start of 2020-21.