Real Madrid are prepared to offer Martin Odegaard to Arsenal in exchange for Emile Smith Rowe in the summer’s most shocking swap deal.
Odegaard spent the second half of last season on loan at the Emirates Stadium and he impressed manager Mikel Arteta.
The Norway international wouldn’t be against returning to the Gunners but Madrid want academy graduate Smith Rowe in exchange, according to the Daily Mail.
Smith Rowe made 20 appearances in the Premier League and graduated through the club’s Hale End academy.
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| Image Credit: PA |
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| Image Credit: PA |
The likelihood of a straight swap is low given Odegaard’s value, but Smith Rowe is highly-rated too.
It’s also been claimed the 20-year-old is a £25 million target for Aston Villa, which Arsenal have turned down.
Villa have already got one over on Arsenal this summer, managing to sign Emi Buendia from Norwich City in a club-record £33 million deal.
Arsenal finished eighth in the Premier League last season and they’ll miss out on European football altogether.
Movement is expected this summer and two targets include Brighton defender Ben White and Anderlecht midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga.
🗣”Talks will continue and Arsenal are expected to go in with another offer.” @skysports_sheth has the latest on Brighton rejecting a £40m bid from Arsenal for Ben White pic.twitter.com/ol4vvNCmUn
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) June 16, 2021
David Luiz has already left on a free transfer with Granit Xhaka, Hector Bellerin and Willian are among the high-profile names departing.
Arteta told reporters at the end of last season: “Nothing is broken. Inside nothing is broken. I don’t know how hard they are going to try from the outside but inside, no.
“They’ve tried to put things on me that I never said. You can see the spirit of the team from the first minute, it doesn’t matter if we’re playing to be seventh, eighth or ninth, you can see that. You can never doubt their efforts and how much they try.
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“It’s been a really tough season because we faced something unprecedented from outside the world of this football club but we put all our passion, our energy, our knowledge and our togetherness to get through any moment, any obstacles and try to be as good as we can.”
Do you think Arsenal will sign Martin Odegaard this summer?
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