Barcelona, Atletico Madrid monitoring situation of Arsenal star

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are both hoping to be very active during the 2026 summer transfer window, which opens for business in July. They will each be on the lookout for market opportunities, and one could present itself from the Premier League.

Midfield is an area that Atleti are planning to address, and while Barcelona are very strong in that department, there would be scope for someone to be brought in. Marc Casado has been linked with a summer exit, while there could be doubts over the continuity of Dani Olmo if he continues to struggle for consistency.

In this regard, it is no surprise that Barca and Atleti are keeping tabs on Martin Odegaard, as CaughtOffside have reported. The former Real Madrid playmaker has struggled at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons, which is why an exit has been floated ahead of the summer transfer window opening in July.

It’s been reported in recent weeks that Arsenal need to make a significant sale in the summer, given that their large outlay from the last few years needs to be counteracted. Odegaard would represent a likely candidate to move on, given his waning importance in Mikel Arteta’s Premier League-leading squad.

Arsenal set high Odegaard asking price

In the event that Barca or Atleti make a serious move for the former Real Madrid player, they would be met by a rather significant asking price. According to the report, Arsenal are prepared to demand as much as €100m to give the green light for Odegaard to leave.

Barcelona were linked with Odegaard earlier in the season, so they are well aware of his situation. Despite this, signing him would make little sense unless one of Olmo or Fermin Lopez were to leave, which would leave Atleti with a better chance of orchestrating the Norway international’s return to Spanish football.