Arsenal will not be signing Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid on a permanent basis this summer, according to BBC columnist Guillem Balague.

The Spanish football expert was asked about the chances of the Gunners keeping the 22-year-old at the end of the season and he replied:

“Zero, I think Real Madrid need to build a future based on the youngsters that they bought.”

After Odegaard made his loan move to the Emirates official last month, manager Mikel Arteta expressed a hope that a permanent deal could be arranged if the Norwegian international performed well.

At this stage, the playmaker has only had a handful of minutes on the pitch for Arsenal so any discussions about his future will likely come further down the line when he has had a chance to play more games.

From what Balague says, though, it appears that Real have no intention of letting Odegaard leave the Bernabeu once this loan ends, which will undoubtedly disappoint Arteta and others at the club who see the player’s potential.