Is Martin Odegaard ready to play for Real Madrid's first team?

Is it right for Martin Odegaard to feature in the Real Madrid first team?

I don't remember what I was doing or where I was when I was 16. Perhaps it wasn't remarkable enough to remember. Definitely not as remarkable as 16-year-old Martin Odegaard getting a call-up to play in a La Liga match for Real Madrid's first team as they face Almeria on Wednesday.

Since his move to Real Madrid in the January transfer window, media agencies have been keeping a keen eye on everything that the Norwegian wonder kid has been up to.

Odegaard was drafted directly to Real Madrid's B-team, Castilla instead of first featuring for the U19 or other Juvenil teams, and that was understandable since he was, of course, a real prodigy, who was already good enough to play among men, having made his debut for the Norway international team as the youngest player ever at the age of 15.

Wanted by almost every other major European club, Odegaard had trained with the first teams of Bayern Munich, Barcelona, the two Manchester teams, Liverpool and Arsenal prior to his move to the Madrid capital side. But, it was Real Madrid where he want to set up his shop, and he did.

Odegaard scored his first goal in his second match against Barakaldo with Castilla winning with a 4-0 victory. Castilla had drawn the first match that he had featured in against Athletic Bilbao's B team.

But, that was all that was. Castilla suffered four straight defeats with Odegaard in the team and surprisingly were soon back to winning ways when the Norwegian was away for international duty.

Early this month, there were speculations stating that Odegaard was unhappy with Castilla and was only keen on playing alongside players like Cristiano Ronaldo. Spanish agency AS also reported that the Castilla backroom staff were not satisfied with Odegaard, stating that it felt like 10 players were on the pitch for Castilla whenever the 16-year-old had started.

How the Castilla team play with Odegaard in the line-up

An agreement in Odegaard's clause with the club requires him to train with the first team five days a week, meaning he will be training with his Castilla teammates only on the eve of their matches. This could just be the primary reason behind Odegaard's drop in form recently.

Talent is at its own place, but you cannot expect a player to fit in when he is barely training with the team. Odegaard’s inexperience in playing with his Castilla teammates disrupts the whole system that is set up by Zidane whenever the Norwegian is in the line-up.

However, the question that remains unanswered is whether he is already ready to play for the first team. Real Madrid face Almeria, who are one of the worst disciplined teams in the league, and certainly starting a 16-year-old Odegaard doesn't really fit the equation as he isn't physically mature, to say the least.

"Tomorrow in the squad there will be three youth-team players," Ancelotti said on Tuesday. "Odegaard, (Borja) Mayoral and Diego Llorente. I think two of the three will be on the bench and they could get an opportunity to play."

With better players in the form of Lucas Silva and Asier Illarramendi in the queue waiting for their chances to prove their worth in the team, it wouldn't be fair to them if someone like Odegaard is to be given a start ahead of those two.

However, it is also very unlikely that Odegaard will be starting the game. And, considering Illarramendi’s poor display over the past few weeks, it will probably be Lucas Silva who gets the starting berth with Toni Kroos getting some much-needed rest.

Carlo Ancelotti has been criticised far too often this season for his reluctance to rotate players, and perhaps with three major injuries and two players suspended from the first team, this was the only road to take for the Italian manager. Odegaard was the only midfielder among the five canteranos (Real Madrid’s young players) who had attended the team training session.

Take a look at his season so far:

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