Spanish giants Real Madrid have this evening confirmed that they have struck a deal with Real Sociedad for defender Álvaro Odriozola. Odriozola, a 22-year-old right-back, came up through the youth ranks of Real Sociedad, before breaking into the club’s first-team setup in January of last year.
And the young stopper has since gone on to establish himself as one of the most highly-regarded starlets in all of Spanish football, with his performances at the Anoeta Stadium this past season (32 La Liga starts) having even earned Odriozola a call-up to Spain’s national squad for this summer’s World Cup, ahead of the likes of Arsenal’s far more experienced Hector Bellerin.
Unurprisingly, Odriozola’s superb showings with La Real over the last 18 months have not gone unnoticed on the part of European football’s biggest clubs, with all of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United named as admirers of the full-back’s talents since the turn of the year. The 40 million Euro release clause in the contract of the gifted stopper was reportedly enough to put off the likes of United, though, with an El Clasico battle over Odriozola’s signature having since been touted.