The next Modric? Is Odegaard the heir to the Croat's Real Madrid crown

Martin Odegaard spent three years in the Netherlands in order to garner regular game time to develop accordingly. The Norwegian star secured a headline grabbing move to Real Madrid back in 2015, with Los Blancos beating off competition from across the continent for the next rising talent with the hopes of lighting up European football. 

Yet, as quickly as the furore surrounding his move to Spain came to the fore, Odegaard disappeared from the public eye. Were Real Madrid merely signing Odegaard to deny rivals the chance of doing so? It was a viable theory and were it not for a two-year spell with Heerenveen and a superb season with Vitesse, then the midfielder would likely have wound up being a renowned pub quiz answer rather than a breakout star. 

Indeed, in his latter stint with the Eredivisie side, Odegaard was magnificent. Under the watchful eye of Leonid Slutsky, Odegaard scored nine goals and provided 12 assists to yield a WhoScored rating of 7.80. "Martin has one of the highest levels of professionalism I've ever seen," Slutsky recently said of the 21-year-old, but his time in the Netherlands was just the beginning for the Norway international. 

Odegaard returned to Real Madrid last summer and effectively had his pick of the clubs. Slutsky claims Liverpool and Ajax were two admirers among many of the youngster, who eventually ended up with Real Sociedad. It was a move the suited all parties. Odegaard has benefitted from regular game time in one of Europe's top leagues, while La Real have one of football's most exciting talents on their books for at least a season. 

He may not have hit the heights of his 2018/19 campaign, but Odegaard has fully announced himself to the watching world in his first full LaLiga season. The Coronavirus pandemic has delayed his continued development, yet Odegaard has already done more than enough to suggest he warrants a long-term spot in the Real Madrid midfield. 

Indeed, Odegaard is one of three players to garner a perfect WhoScored 10 rating in a LaLiga match this season, achieving the feat in Real Sociedad's 4-1 home win over Eibar, while no player has won possession in the attacking third more times than Odegaard (26) in Spain's top tier this term. With four goals and five assists to his name, the on-loan star is good value for his fine WhoScored rating of 7.29, that in itself the second best of all loanees in Europe's top five leagues this season. 

Real Madrid supposedly have an option to recall Odegaard this summer despite allowing the player to leave for Real Sociedad on a two-year loan deal and the decision to bring him back this year or next is believed to be dependent on Luka Modric's future. Modric's contract runs until next year and now 34 years of age, Los Blancos need to consider shifting the 2018 World Cup runner up off the books. 

Linked with an MLS move, Real Madrid are aware that they need to make financial sacrifices, particularly with the delay in football due to COVID-19. The Croat is highly thought of in Spain, however he has made just 14 league starts this season, and while a pursuit for his successor could have been daunting; Real Madrid have his readymade replacement on hand to step in when required. 

Odegaard may be more familiar with playing in an advanced role compared to Modric, yet that shouldn't dissuade Zinedine Zidane against making the decision to use the former to succeed the latter. As the aforementioned number of times Odegaard has won possession in the attacking third shows, he is more than capable of pressing his opponents to help win the ball for his side to echo a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of 'defensive contribution'. 

However, the youngster still has some way to go to match Modric's peak seasons with Real Madrid. Indeed, between 2014 and 2016, the Croatia international was a force to be reckoned with in the Los Blancos midfield as his WhoScored rating (7.41) shows. Across the two seasons, Modric put in fine returns of 1.6 tackles and 1.9 interceptions per 90, both of which eclipse Odegaard's respective returns of 0.9 and 0.5, respectively, this season. 

Modric was always a solid performer when out of possession and this ball winning tendency helped establish the experienced Croat as one of football's finest midfielders for a period of Real Madrid dominance. His reading of the game in particular was a standout trait that aided his rise to the top with Los Blancos and enabled Modric to control proceedings in the middle of the park and drive Real Madrid forward. 

Across his two peak LaLiga seasons, Modric completed 1.7 dribbles per 90 with a fine 77.6% success rate. Over that period, 170 players attempted 50 or more dribbles and only Real Madrid teammate Toni Kroos (78.9%) could better that success. Having been dispossessed an average of 1.2 times per 90, Modric's excellence on the ball ensured there was little pressure exerted on the Real Madrid goal as he, more often than not, effortlessly glided past opponents. 

However, due to his advancing years, Modric's interceptions per 90 have dropped to 1.2 in LaLiga this season, while his dribble success rate is down to 60.5% as the player struggles to ghost past midfielders with the same vigour he did earlier in his Real Madrid career. By comparison, Odegaard's dribble success rate of 62.2% in LaLiga this term is better than Modric, but is still some way from Modric's peak years in Spain. 

There are positive signs that Odegaard will be a fine successor for Modric at the Bernabeu and, as with any player his age, he remains a diamond in the rough, but one that has the potential to succeed the Croatian legend in the Spanish capital. This season is a sign of things to come for Odegaard and if Modric does leave the Bernabeu this summer, then he can pass on the torch safe in the knowledge that Real Madrid won't be scrambling to secure his replacement and can instead look closer to home to ensure the LaLiga outfit don't sacrifice control when Modric's time in Spain does draw to a close.