Liverpool are emerging out as favourites to land Norwegian wonder-kid Martin Odegaard after the youngster was spotted dining in the city with Reds player Philippe Coutinho.
According to reports from The Telegraph, the 15-year-old, who recently made his debut for Norway and a reported target of Manchester United and Real Madrid, was at Anfield recently and he was given a stadium tour guide and was spotted by fans dinning with his father and Coutinho.
The youngster is considered one of the brightest talents in world football at the moment and became the youngest ever footballer to appear in European championships.
Popular football website 101 Great Goals posted a picture of the player dining out with his father at Liverpool.
Wonderkid Martin Odegaard (15) & his dad dine in Liverpool with Philippe Coutinho [Tweets] http://t.co/XoVigAetpb pic.twitter.com/kxQRiuj05i
— 101 Great Goals (@101greatgoals) December 3, 2014
Odegaard plays for Norwegian team Stromsgodset, where he is already an established first team player, having played over 20 games in such a short career.
Several European heavy weights like Barcelona and Real Madrid are vying for his signature, therefore, if Brendan Rodgers pulls the deal out, it would reflect a very commendable job done by the manager.
[polldaddy poll=8497965]Liverpool have had missed several top players in the past who openly claimed to be a Reds supporter. Arda Turan is one such example who openly proclaimed his love for Liverpool, but the Reds never made any formal offers for him.
Odegaard claimed recently that he is a Liverpool supporter and it seems the club are doing everything possible to keep the youngster happy and sign a deal for them. He said recently in an interview to Bild as quoted by Telegraph:
“Liverpool have always been my dream club. But I will not let this affect my decision when I choose a new club. It’s all about finding the team that is best for me and for my development. That is not necessarily Liverpool.
I haven’t really thought about my future yet. I will end the season here and then visit a number of clubs. I have not made a final decision yet, though. Of course, it’s flattering when you hear that big clubs are after you, but I don’t think about it too often.”
Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager has shown great desire to work with young players, for instance, the club have shown great effort in nurturing the talent of Raheem Sterling, and Odegaard’s family could see that a sign of encouragement while choosing his future destination.
There is an old adage, commonly used at Liverpool – ‘If you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ – and it seems apt for Odegaard, who is often compared with Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. Who knows he could be the next big superstar for Liverpool in coming years!
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