Arsenal turned down the chance to sign Martin Odegaard as a 14 year-old prospect, it has been revealed.
Odegaard burst onto the scene with Stromsgodset in the Norwegian division after training with the first team at the age of just 13.
He made his professional debut at the age of 15 years and 118 days, making him the youngest footballer to play in the Tippeligaen, and became Norway’s youngest-ever player when appearing for the senior team against United Arab Emirates in November 2014.
Bjorn Furuheim, who also spent time leading Arsenal’s Norwegian supporters’ group, told The Athletic: “When Martin was 14 and started training with the first team, given my relations to Arsenal, I tried to call someone at the club to make a recommendation.
‘You have to see the guy, he is so young, so good…’. I had Paul Davis’ number, from when some legends used to come to Arsenal Norway. I said, ‘You have to tell someone at the club about Martin’.”
However, Arsenal did not make a move to sign Odegaard on that occasion and the youngster sealed a high-profile switch to Real Madrid before his 16th birthday.
This season, Odegaard is now being considered for the club captaincy at Arsenal.
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