Including an option to buy in a loan deal is a win/win situation for the buying club, but Martin Odegaard’s situation has shown why the selling team should avoid it at all costs.
Every player who goes on loan has the potential to reach a new level and their price tag can skyrocket, so all that option to buy really does is limit the amount they can be sold for.
The Daily Star have reported on the latest with Arsenal’s hunt to sign the Norwegian star this summer.
In fairness it sounds like Real had no intention of including an option in his loan spell, so there’s every chance that Arsenal had to accept that or the loan deal wouldn’t have happened at all.
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The problem is that it’s suggested that Real thought he could be worth around £30m in January, but his recent form in the Premier League has shown that he can shine at the highest level, and now they want at least £50m to let him go.
That’s a huge jump and it might be too much for Arsenal to afford, while it’s also likely that there will be other interest in his services if Real decide to sell so an old fashioned bidding war could push that price even higher.
There is some hope for Arsenal as it sounds like he wants to stay and his relationship with Zidane is strained so a return to Madrid does look unlikely, but they may need to sell some players first to raise that money.