Target: Jurgen Klopp was keen on signing Martin Odegaard
(Picture: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Jurgen Klopp has confirmed he was eager to sign Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard during his time as Borussia Dortmund manager.
The Norway international rose to prominence as a teenager, making his first-team debut for at the age of 15 for boyhood club Stromsgodset before sealing a move to Real Madrid.
While the midfielder was not handed much in the way of opportunities in the Spanish capital, a loan spell at Arsenal in 2021 was enough to earn a permanent move to the club, where he has since established himself as a key player.
Handed the armband by Mikel Arteta over the course of the summer, the 23-year-old is now playing arguably the best football of his career.
Klopp has also previously spoken of his admiration of teammate Gabriel Martinelli and was open about his desire to sign Odegaard after he joined Madrid.
Speaking to TV2, Klopp said: “I really like him. It’s easy these days. It was a bit more difficult at the start of his career when he was at Real Madrid. Then it looked like it might not go his way.
“I was really disappointed by that, because we wanted him in Dortmund when he was very young. We had a long conversation when he was still a boy, together with his father. In the end he decided on Madrid, and that’s fine, but that’s why I’ve always followed him.”
