Goal

Zinedine Zidane's decision to leave Martin Odegaard out of his Real Madrid squad to face Cultural Leonesa in the Copa Del Rey Wednesday evening has raised a few eyebrows. The Norwegian prospect trained with the Blancos first-team this week, but Zidane has not included him on the list to travel to Estadio Municipal.

In fact, Zidane's 16-man squad does not include a single Castilla player despite Luka Modric, Casemiro and captain Sergio Ramos being unavailable through injury. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema will also be left out, as well as Marcelo and Keylor Navas. A perfect opportunity for Odegaard, it was suggested. 

It's almost two years since the teenager signed on for the Spanish giants. With him came huge expectations following the inflated priced laid out by Real and interest from around Europe's biggest clubs. However, since his switch to the Spanish capital he has played just 32 minutes of first-team football.

That came under Carlo Ancelotti, the man who openly revealed he did not want to sign the Norway international at the time before calling the move a publicity stunt.

Now plying his trade with the Real Madrid B team, Odegaard faces a big decision in the next few months. Turning 18 in December, the former Stromsgodset midfielder must decide whether or not his future sits with Real. A move away from the club seemed close during the summer, with Ligue 1 outfit Rennes keen on a transfer, though negotiations broke down and he remains in Castilla. 

Odegaard is in fact making an impact in the B team, though not deemed good enough to make the significant jump to feature alongside Ronaldo et al. 

It seems the club is in no rush to let Odegaard leave the club, though. Despite not living up to the early promise he remains a highly talented prospect who could very well make his mark in the long-term. A loan move in the January transfer market looks likely, though, as he continues his quest to prove his worth.