Martin Ødegaard - Next season

I'm basing it on Real Madrid's history with young players. Talent wise he does, but it's the club I don't trust. Will always prefer to go with the 'bigger name'.

Marco Asensio
Lucas Vazquez
Casemiro
Jese Rodriguez
Nacho
Mariano
 
Zidane has the bollocks and the stature big enough to stand up to Perez and play the team he wants to rather than one designed to sell shirts so it helps to play youth.
 
Will join Heerenveen on loan for 1.5 years (Real have an option to bring him back this summer).. looking forward to see for myself how good he actually is.
 
:lol: This thread again. How old is he now? 18 right? So his footballing education at one of his key milestones of footballing life (i.e. between 18-19/20) is going to take place at ...... Herenveen. Good luck lad.
 
:lol: This thread again. How old is he now? 18 right? So his footballing education at one of his key milestones of footballing life (i.e. between 18-19/20) is going to take place at ...... Herenveen. Good luck lad.
Still bitter about him not moving to your club? :P
 
1.5 years is a decent loan, time to adapt to team mates and the league. I have no idea about football in Holland at present but it seems that Heerenveen are doing quite well
 
Still bitter about him not moving to your club? :P

Absolutely. But bitterness aside I want to see world class young players (yes I considered him that when he first burst on to the scene) to make good decisions. Football is always played in the brain first and foremost. If you can translate that through your body and legs then we have a winner. Unfortunately, Odegaard and his dad went down the back pocket route and so welcome to the world of professional football Shaun Wright Phillips II.
 
Weird move, he's too good for Heerenveen
What makes a guy who spent the last two years playing in the third spanish division without tearing it apart too good for one of the best dutch teams?
It's a good move. Heerenveen plays very offensive-minded and he'll get plenty time on the pitch. The opponents are easily a big step up from what he played over the last two years.
 
Is he? Based on what fiirst team experience exactly @Macern?

Sounds like a smart loan to me.
From what I know (quite a lot because Norwegian media can't stop babbling about how he's doing) he's too good for Heerenveen. He could play for | hold on, just checked the eredivisie table and they're 4th. Was going to say one of the top clubs in Holland but it appears they are one of them lol. Maybe it isn't such a bad move after all. But honestly I think he could play regularly for one of the weaker teams in La Liga
 
From what I know (quite a lot because Norwegian media can't stop babbling about how he's doing) he's too good for Heerenveen. He could play for | hold on, just checked the eredivisie table and they're 4th. Was going to say one of the top clubs in Holland but it appears they are one of them lol. Maybe it isn't such a bad move after all. But honestly I think he could play regularly for one of the weaker teams in La Liga

And the English media would have you believe John Stones is Bobby Moore reincarnated. Your point?

The Norwegian media know as much as anyone else as he's proven absolutely nothing and has been playing levels and levels below the Dutch league without ripping it up.

It's a good move at his age, a real chance to show he is a star.
 
If he's far too good for that level he'll be recalled in the summer and loaned elsewhere.
 
It's a perfect move for him. Half a season to prove himself. If he, however unlikely it may be, pisses all over the Dutch league he'll obviously get called back this summer and go on loan to a better team, and if he doesn't rip it up he'll get 18 months playing at a higher level than he has been for the last two years.

Win-win, as long as he performs well enough to get picked.
 
Good move for him, Heerenveen plays some nice football (at least based on the limited game hightlights I've seen this year). Does make you wonder which level he'd be at right now if he joined a team like Ajax instead of Real Madrid in the first place, but we'll never know.
 
Poor move IMO. Depay was tearing that league apart not so long ago. The state of the league is not the best currently. Would've made sense to go to France or Germany if not Spain. Going to Heerenven is odd and I doubt will be that beneficial of his development.
 
Absolutely. But bitterness aside I want to see world class young players (yes I considered him that when he first burst on to the scene) to make good decisions. Football is always played in the brain first and foremost. If you can translate that through your body and legs then we have a winner. Unfortunately, Odegaard and his dad went down the back pocket route and so welcome to the world of professional football Shaun Wright Phillips II.
Uhm... No. You'd be wrong. But guess you'll have to wait and see what happens when he's around 24-27. :)
 
Poor move IMO. Depay was tearing that league apart not so long ago. The state of the league is not the best currently. Would've made sense to go to France or Germany if not Spain. Going to Heerenven is odd and I doubt will be that beneficial of his development.
Again, why do you think he'd be good enough to play in La Liga when he's not even a standout player in the third(!) division?
 
Poor move IMO. Depay was tearing that league apart not so long ago. The state of the league is not the best currently. Would've made sense to go to France or Germany if not Spain. Going to Heerenven is odd and I doubt will be that beneficial of his development.
The one who was actually ripping the league apart in that season is now a starter for Liverpool. Depay was a very good goalscorer but he certainly was not the teams standout player.
Anyway at the start of his last season Depay was 20.5 years old. At the end of his loan Odegaard will be 19.5 years old. I've yet to see an 18 year old player rip the league apart.
He will face far better opposition than he ever has in the dutch league. He's played in the norwegian league and in the spanish 3rd division. If he performs well he can make the next step afterwards. He still won't even be 20 then as I said.
 
Again, why do you think he'd be good enough to play in La Liga when he's not even a standout player in the third(!) division?
That's why I said France or Germany - both leagues are miles better than the Dutch one.

The one who was actually ripping the league apart in that season is now a starter for Liverpool. Depay was a very good goalscorer but he certainly was not the teams standout player.
Anyway at the start of his last season Depay was 20.5 years old. At the end of his loan Odegaard will be 19.5 years old. I've yet to see an 18 year old player rip the league apart.
He will face far better opposition than he ever has in the dutch league. He's played in the norwegian league and in the spanish 3rd division. If he performs well he can make the next step afterwards. He still won't even be 20 then as I said.
Wijnaldum?

At the end of the day he's developing in the Real academy. If he's to go on loan (considering the prospect he is) it should be worth it IMO. It's like sending Pereira on loan to Twente instead of Granada.

Speaking of Heerenveen and the league level - didn't an Icelandic forward(whose name I forgot) not so long ago scored like 30 goals in the league for them and then couldn't even score in a training for Sociedad later on?
 
@Enigma_87
Yeah Wijnaldum. Regarding Heerenveen they've often played a system VERY focused on getting the most out of their strikers which is why they produced these numbers despite not actually being that good.
Which is also while neither Dost nor Finnbogason won individual awards.
Don't know about scoring in training but he scored a few goals in the league and cup. Obviously he was still a flop but I don't think we have to exaggerate here. He played like a bit above 1000 minutes for them and scored 4 goals.
Now he went to Augsburg and hasn't looked that bad scoring in 8 out of 20 league games, also scoring against teams like Gladbach, Dortmund and Arsenal. Maybe they play a system more suited to him, more focused on him, I don't know as I don't really follow his career. Point is in the right system he actually CAN score even though he obviously won't score as much in the Bundesliga as he did in the Eredivisie. I mean I'm not going to argue that our league is worse. That much is obvious. There's a difference and it isn't small but it's not THAT extreme either.

Anyway back to Odegaard I'm sorry but I actually don't really get the problem. He will face better teams than now, he will have a good chance of becoming a starter (something that isn't guaranteed just because you go out on loan btw and he could easily end up like Halilovic) and play for an offensive minded team.
I mean idk but going by your logic I don't even really know how our league can keep producing players who start for very good international teams if we're not even worth a loan for an 18 year old.
You see I could understand you saying you don't trust every player who performs in the dutch league but surely that doesn't mean players can't develop here?
Didn't players like Wijnaldum, Eriksen, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Blind and others become quite good playing in this dutch league (actually a worse dutch league as the current quality is a bit better and seems to be improving)? Even Suarez - apart from a few teams at the top the league was at the same level as it is now.
 
The one who was actually ripping the league apart in that season is now a starter for Liverpool. Depay was a very good goalscorer but he certainly was not the teams standout player.
Anyway at the start of his last season Depay was 20.5 years old. At the end of his loan Odegaard will be 19.5 years old. I've yet to see an 18 year old player rip the league apart.
He will face far better opposition than he ever has in the dutch league. He's played in the norwegian league and in the spanish 3rd division. If he performs well he can make the next step afterwards. He still won't even be 20 then as I said.
That's just hyperbole. As you should well know when Molde were good a couple of years back they were of similar quality to your own Ajax. And he's got a couple of handfuls of games for the NT.

But it's good that they finally managed to get him a loan. He'll team up with another young noggie that I've barely watched. Do you know how Thorsby has done for them? Looks like he has many appearances, but few starts.
 
He has 3 goals in 13 games for a third tier side, yet the poster I quoted suggested he should've gone to La Liga straight away? I won't claim I've seen him play this season but I heard he struggled to get into their side when Zidane was still coaching them, and if he did extraordinary things this season I'm pretty sure there would've been a lot of coverage about that, so unless I've completely missed that, I don't think he's ready to play in La Liga or the Bundesliga. If he proves himself in the Eredivisie, he'll be called back and loaned out to a better team, but my guess is he won't. Just my opinion of course, fine if you disagree with that :)
 
:lol: This thread again. How old is he now? 18 right? So his footballing education at one of his key milestones of footballing life (i.e. between 18-19/20) is going to take place at ...... Herenveen. Good luck lad.
Spain and Netherlands, it's difficult to find two better countries when it comes to a young player's formative years
 
That's just hyperbole. As you should well know when Molde were good a couple of years back they were of similar quality to your own Ajax. And he's got a couple of handfuls of games for the NT.

But it's good that they finally managed to get him a loan. He'll team up with another young noggie that I've barely watched. Do you know how Thorsby has done for them? Looks like he has many appearances, but few starts.
Yes I agree. I was just thinking of the average quality of the leagues and ignored that there are a few top teams (well as much of a top team as ours I guess) in it as well.
 
@Enigma_87
Yeah Wijnaldum. Regarding Heerenveen they've often played a system VERY focused on getting the most out of their strikers which is why they produced these numbers despite not actually being that good.
Which is also while neither Dost nor Finnbogason won individual awards.
Don't know about scoring in training but he scored a few goals in the league and cup. Obviously he was still a flop but I don't think we have to exaggerate here. He played like a bit above 1000 minutes for them and scored 4 goals.
Now he went to Augsburg and hasn't looked that bad scoring in 8 out of 20 league games, also scoring against teams like Gladbach, Dortmund and Arsenal. Maybe they play a system more suited to him, more focused on him, I don't know as I don't really follow his career. Point is in the right system he actually CAN score even though he obviously won't score as much in the Bundesliga as he did in the Eredivisie. I mean I'm not going to argue that our league is worse. That much is obvious. There's a difference and it isn't small but it's not THAT extreme either.

Anyway back to Odegaard I'm sorry but I actually don't really get the problem. He will face better teams than now, he will have a good chance of becoming a starter (something that isn't guaranteed just because you go out on loan btw and he could easily end up like Halilovic) and play for an offensive minded team.
I mean idk but going by your logic I don't even really know how our league can keep producing players who start for very good international teams if we're not even worth a loan for an 18 year old.
You see I could understand you saying you don't trust every player who performs in the dutch league but surely that doesn't mean players can't develop here?
Didn't players like Wijnaldum, Eriksen, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Blind and others become quite good playing in this dutch league (actually a worse dutch league as the current quality is a bit better and seems to be improving)? Even Suarez - apart from a few teams at the top the league was at the same level as it is now.

Very good post. Some of these comments make me question humanity!:wenger: (Hyperbolic obviously, but still)

First of all his game has always been about technique and being mature in his football brain beyond his years. What seems to have slipped some of these other posters minds is that he has in fact been one of, if not the youngest player in that Real B side for most of his stay there. Lastly he's shown himself superior to grown men in a slower, less technical and more physical league in Norway (While 15 yo ffs!). He's far from fully physically developed, and so imo a loan to a top club in the Netherlands should actually prove to be a brilliant step. He's played for our national side, albeit a poor one, and shown more than enough promise. He seems to grow with the challenges he's presented with.

Lastly he just turned 18 less than a month ago. He's going to such a poor league that the runners up for the CL needed penalties to overcome PSV, who incidentally also got out of the group ahead of us. Some people need to get a grasp of reality, maybe he won't make it as a WC player, nobody knows, I sure as heck don't. You could list class players A through Z who took different paths to the top. All I know is he's a very good talent, and seeing him against England U21s I sure know whom I'd bet on to be the better player (bar our own gem of course ;))
 
Again, why do you think he'd be good enough to play in La Liga when he's not even a standout player in the third(!) division?

In fairness - he has generally been one of their 2-3 best players.
 
Weird move. Wouldn't Ajax have been a better temporary destination for him?
Im watching our own Perrera improve and develop all the time whilst playing for the worst team in laliga. Not sure whats weird about this move, he will get valuable game time playing in a decent league.
 
Maybe Ajax didn't want him?
No, Ajax was in for him too.
Im watching our own Perrera improve and develop all the time whilst playing for the worst team in laliga. Not sure whats weird about this move, he will get valuable game time playing in a decent league.
Because the level would obviously be higher at Ajax and they're playing in the same league.
 
@Enigma_87
Yeah Wijnaldum. Regarding Heerenveen they've often played a system VERY focused on getting the most out of their strikers which is why they produced these numbers despite not actually being that good.
Which is also while neither Dost nor Finnbogason won individual awards.
Don't know about scoring in training but he scored a few goals in the league and cup. Obviously he was still a flop but I don't think we have to exaggerate here. He played like a bit above 1000 minutes for them and scored 4 goals.
Now he went to Augsburg and hasn't looked that bad scoring in 8 out of 20 league games, also scoring against teams like Gladbach, Dortmund and Arsenal. Maybe they play a system more suited to him, more focused on him, I don't know as I don't really follow his career. Point is in the right system he actually CAN score even though he obviously won't score as much in the Bundesliga as he did in the Eredivisie. I mean I'm not going to argue that our league is worse. That much is obvious. There's a difference and it isn't small but it's not THAT extreme either.

Anyway back to Odegaard I'm sorry but I actually don't really get the problem. He will face better teams than now, he will have a good chance of becoming a starter (something that isn't guaranteed just because you go out on loan btw and he could easily end up like Halilovic) and play for an offensive minded team.
I mean idk but going by your logic I don't even really know how our league can keep producing players who start for very good international teams if we're not even worth a loan for an 18 year old.
You see I could understand you saying you don't trust every player who performs in the dutch league but surely that doesn't mean players can't develop here?
Didn't players like Wijnaldum, Eriksen, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Blind and others become quite good playing in this dutch league (actually a worse dutch league as the current quality is a bit better and seems to be improving)? Even Suarez - apart from a few teams at the top the league was at the same level as it is now.

I understand where you are coming from and seeing you as an Ajax fan you know your league best. However watching some of the top teams lately (actually as you said it's probably like this since Ajax and PSV were actually good in Europe) the defensive phase is just not there for me. It's probably one of the easiest league (out of the top ones) to score in and it's much more focused on the technical and attacking side of the game. Which is of course very good and positive for young talents such as Eriksen, Wijnaldum etc but IMO not the right place for Odegaard. He needs to develop other aspects of his game - such as physical, tactical and positional. That he'll learn better at France and Germany where teams are more focused on positional and physical aspect of the game.

It's not just Finnbogason there are many forwards that were free scoring there and flopping everywhere else and it probably dates back from Kezman and Alves. Obviously there are examples like Bony and Pelle who did well in England but they are a bit of exception to the rule compared to those who didn't.

Don't get me wrong it's an excellent place for a young talent to improve his technical game, but even in Spain a lot of teams are following Atletico's more tactical and physical approach and given Odegaard game at the moment I don't see the point of a loan to Heerenven, apart from playing time.

Besides Heerenveen isn't even one of the top clubs in Holland, which given how highly rated he is find even more mind boggling.
 
I understand where you are coming from and seeing you as an Ajax fan you know your league best. However watching some of the top teams lately (actually as you said it's probably like this since Ajax and PSV were actually good in Europe) the defensive phase is just not there for me. It's probably one of the easiest league (out of the top ones) to score in and it's much more focused on the technical and attacking side of the game. Which is of course very good and positive for young talents such as Eriksen, Wijnaldum etc but IMO not the right place for Odegaard. He needs to develop other aspects of his game - such as physical, tactical and positional. That he'll learn better at France and Germany where teams are more focused on positional and physical aspect of the game.

It's not just Finnbogason there are many forwards that were free scoring there and flopping everywhere else and it probably dates back from Kezman and Alves. Obviously there are examples like Bony and Pelle who did well in England but they are a bit of exception to the rule compared to those who didn't.

Don't get me wrong it's an excellent place for a young talent to improve his technical game, but even in Spain a lot of teams are following Atletico's more tactical and physical approach and given Odegaard game at the moment I don't see the point of a loan to Heerenven, apart from playing time.

Besides Heerenveen isn't even one of the top clubs in Holland, which given how highly rated he is find even more mind boggling.

And that there is the biggest reasons for a loan.