Celtic boss Ronny Deila has revealed how he failed in a last-gasp bid to snatch Norwegian wonderkid Martin Odegaard from under the nose of Real Madrid. But he believes it’s still possible he could land his 16-year-old former Stromsgodset protege on loan from the European champions. Odegaard joined the Spanish giants on Thursday in a £2.3million deal which could see him go on to earn a whopping £80,000 a week. While Deila has backed him to have a fantastic career in Madrid, he’s ready to offer him the chance to get some game time under his belt if he fails to break into Carlo Ancelotti’s first-team. Martin Odegaard holds his shirt after being unveiled as a  Real Madrid player . Asked if he kept trying to land Odegaard until the final minutes of the Real Madrid deal, Deila said: ‘Yes, I was speaking with him. I hoped to get him to Celtic and I met him and his father and I talked with them. ‘I knew all the way that it was going to be hard. I didn’t put much into it. I just said to him that Celtic was an option. That here, he would have a better chance to play. That this could be a between step to the biggest clubs. ‘I have a good relationship with Martin and his father and they called me up the day they chose Real Madrid. There’s not many times in your life you get the option to go there so when you get the chance it’s good. I understand his choice. It’s not going to ruin his career. Odegaard poses with Sergio Ramos (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo after signing on Thursday . ‘Is there a chance I could get him on loan? You never know in football. This could be possible, but we also want players that we own or can make money from of course.’ While the chance of Celtic borrowing European football’s hottest talent from one of the continent’s biggest clubs seems fanciful, there is perhaps method in Deila’s madness. One of the conditions Odegaard’s father Hans Erik has put in place with Madrid is that his son doesn’t play third-tier football next year. Odegaard grins after hearing a question during the press conference on Thursday . At the moment he will go straight into the Madrid B-team for what is left of the season under the tutelage of Zinedine Zidane. The idea is that he helps the France legend to promotion from one of Spain’s regional third divisions. If the B-team go up then Odegaard will spend most of next season training with the first team but getting match practice with the B-side. If, however, Zidane is unsuccessful and they remain in the third tier this could present an opportunity for Deila to take advantage of his close relationship with the player. The Celtic manager insisted Odegaard is not the sort go off the rails after joining such a big club so young. ‘If I was asked to rate Martin’s attitude from one to 100, it is 100,’ he said. ‘He takes very quickly to each level he reaches. He’s the guy who trains the most, he’s very humble and very, very mature as a boy. He has the attitude to succeed and just loves playing football. ‘Money is not the issue for him. In Norway, money is okay so that’s not the biggest problem. ‘It’s an exciting move and it’s very hyped in Norway. It’s the biggest thing that ever happened. He’s the first Norwegian player to join Madrid. I’m happy for him. It’s going to be so exciting to see how far he can reach.’
Wonderkid Martin Odegaard will earn up to £80,000 a week at Real Madrid .
The 16-year-old joined the Spanish giants on Thursday in a £2.3m deal .
Celtic boss Ronny Deila made last-gasp bid to sign the forward .
Deila could still land his former Stromsgodset protege on loan .
Celtic boss Ronny Deila has revealed how he failed in a last-gasp bid to snatch Norwegian wonderkid Martin Odegaard from under the nose of Real Madrid. But he believes it’s still possible he could land his 16-year-old former Stromsgodset protege on loan from the European champions. Odegaard joined the Spanish giants on Thursday in a £2.3million deal which could see him go on to earn a whopping £80,000 a week. While Deila has backed him to have a fantastic career in Madrid, he’s ready to offer him the chance to get some game time under his belt if he fails to break into Carlo Ancelotti’s first-team. Martin Odegaard holds his shirt after being unveiled as a  Real Madrid player . Asked if he kept trying to land Odegaard until the final minutes of the Real Madrid deal, Deila said: ‘Yes, I was speaking with him. I hoped to get him to Celtic and I met him and his father and I talked with them. ‘I knew all the way that it was going to be hard. I didn’t put much into it. I just said to him that Celtic was an option. That here, he would have a better chance to play. That this could be a between step to the biggest clubs. ‘I have a good relationship with Martin and his father and they called me up the day they chose Real Madrid. There’s not many times in your life you get the option to go there so when you get the chance it’s good. I understand his choice. It’s not going to ruin his career. Odegaard poses with Sergio Ramos (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo after signing on Thursday . ‘Is there a chance I could get him on loan? You never know in football. This could be possible, but we also want players that we own or can make money from of course.’ While the chance of Celtic borrowing European football’s hottest talent from one of the continent’s biggest clubs seems fanciful, there is perhaps method in Deila’s madness. One of the conditions Odegaard’s father Hans Erik has put in place with Madrid is that his son doesn’t play third-tier football next year. Odegaard grins after hearing a question during the press conference on Thursday . At the moment he will go straight into the Madrid B-team for what is left of the season under the tutelage of Zinedine Zidane. The idea is that he helps the France legend to promotion from one of Spain’s regional third divisions. If the B-team go up then Odegaard will spend most of next season training with the first team but getting match practice with the B-side. If, however, Zidane is unsuccessful and they remain in the third tier this could present an opportunity for Deila to take advantage of his close relationship with the player. The Celtic manager insisted Odegaard is not the sort go off the rails after joining such a big club so young. ‘If I was asked to rate Martin’s attitude from one to 100, it is 100,’ he said. ‘He takes very quickly to each level he reaches. He’s the guy who trains the most, he’s very humble and very, very mature as a boy. He has the attitude to succeed and just loves playing football. ‘Money is not the issue for him. In Norway, money is okay so that’s not the biggest problem. ‘It’s an exciting move and it’s very hyped in Norway. It’s the biggest thing that ever happened. He’s the first Norwegian player to join Madrid. I’m happy for him. It’s going to be so exciting to see how far he can reach.’
Celtic boss Ronny Deila has revealed how he failed in a last-gasp bid to snatch Norwegian wonderkid could land his 16-year-old former Stromsgodset protege on loan from the European champions. Odegaard joined the Spanish giants on Thursday in earn a whopping £80,000 a week. While Deila has Real Madrid deal, Deila said: ‘Yes, I was