Hmm, i'd like to think that Odegaard is every bit as versatile as Gini with a hell of a lot more potential, for Arsenal he does play AM but for Norway he plays more of a traditional CM role, to very good effect, initiating a lot of moves etc
He might be, I can't say I've watched a lot of Norway games. However, a quick look on transfermarkt suggests he does not. I've taken a sample ranging from August 2018 to April 2021 of his NT call-ups and in all of those games he either played as an AM in the hole behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1 system or a 4-4-1-1 system or as a winger (essentially a right winger)
Link to his national team profile:
https://www.transfermarkt.us/martin-odegaard/nationalmannschaft/spieler/316264/verein_id/3440/plus/0?hauptwettbewerb=&wettbewerb_id=&trainer_id=&start=Aug+27%2C+2018&ende=Apr+7%2C+2021&nurEinsatz=0Furthermore, his club level stats also suggests he tends to be used as the AM in the hole behind the striker or as a winger. His time at Vitesse was mainly as a winger, then he played for Sociedad mainly as an AM in another 4-2-3-1 and now for Arsenal in another 4-2-3-1.
What is more interesting is when you look at his short spell with Madrid this year you notice that when Zidane had to start him he also had to switch to a 4-2-3-1 (Madrid usually plays a 4-3-3) which usually meant benching Casemiro and playing with a defensively frail DM line of Modric and Kroos. My guess is RM know they've got a talent in him but are willing to sell solely because they know that giving him the playing time he wants implies shifting bodies left and right (and by shifting I mean potentially selling and buying) to switch to a system that will fit him. Will all due respect to both Kroos and Modric those two guys are not Xabi Alonso. You can't just pop them into DM and throw Ozil/Odegaard in front of them and expect them to do the same thing prime Alonso + Khedira were doing. None of the those two guys can give you the same high quality ratio of attack/defending that Alonso gave RM. RM could also keep Odegaard and deal with constantly benching one of Casemiro, Kroos or Modric every time they wanna start him but my guess is Zidane doesn't wanna do this hence the loan switch so soon after coming back from another loan and now the rumors of a willingness to sell.
With all that said, I'm not saying I am 100% right. This is simply my analysis of the situation based on what I've just demonstrated above: do we have the necessary quality and the money to go spend 50 or 60M on Odegaard and then permanently switch to a 4-2-3-1? My answer is yes. Is it the smartest move you can make out there considering our style of play, our limited budget, etc? No. I'd much rather go for a working version of Keita who will work perfectly in my 4-3-3 and I still can put him in the hole behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1.
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