Arsenal have been told they must pay more than £50m to sign Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid, according to reports.
The Gunners signed the Norway international in January on a loan deal until the end of the season.
Odegaard impressed as an attacking midfielder for Mikel Arteta’s side, and Arsenal are thought to be keen to bring him back to the Emirates Stadium.
Madrid are willing to listen to offers for the 22-year-old, who is unlikely to be in the first-team plans of whichever manager succeeds Zinedine Zidane.
However, los Blancos are not ready to let him go on the cheap, and their stance could put Odegaard out of Arsenal’s reach.
According to Defensa Central, Madrid will demand £51.6m for the Norwegian, who is also said to be a target for other clubs.
That could make it difficult for Arsenal to do a deal, particularly as the club failed to qualify for European competition in 2020/21.
And while members of the Madrid hierarchy have doubts about Odegaard’s attitude, they are not willing to consider a lower fee for the 22-year-old.
“Well we have a very clear and strong opinion on what we would like to do. He's not our player,” Arteta said of Odegaard last month.
“We'll have discussions in the next few weeks, but first of all we need to respect that he's a Real Madrid player. We'll have those communications.
“We've tried to make everything that we could to get Martin performing for the team, which I think he's done, and he has adapted really well to our way of playing and to our football club.
“Hopefully we have given him the hope and the feeling that this could be a good place for him.”
Arsenal may now be forced to consider alternatives to Odegaard, who faces an uncertain future.
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