By Tim Stannard

Despite pressures of a never-ending fixture list, Norway's Odegaard joins impressive list of players that Zidane doesn't like 

When the first thesis is written on Coach Zizou's managerial ways, a whole chapter will be dedicated to "The Scapegoat" - the player that the French coach routinely picks on to drop from the the squad, leave freezing on the bench or force to train alone. 

That role has been portrayed by some pretty decent players in the past at Real Madrid - Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Isco, and Marco Asensio for starters. With the first of those players gone for the season, the second gone for good, and the others now getting some game time, Zidane has found a new target to put on the naughty step - Martin Odegaard.

The Norwegian has had a complicated time at Real Madrid since arriving almost a year to the day in 2015 at the age of 16. The attacking midfielder was seen as a special case in terms of his elevated salary, being allowed to train with the first team, but playing for the reserves.

Loan moves followed to the Netherlands and then Real Sociedad, when Odegaard had a breakout season. Coach Zizou brought the player back after a year last summer and he was expected to play a key role in a stuffed schedule this season.  

However, Odegaard has only started three LaLiga games - injury got in the way for a while - but the player has not even been called up for today's Copa del Rey match against Alcoyano, on a perfect day for the understudies. This has lead to reports that Odegaard has asked for an immediate move out of Real Madrid to get some playing time. 

One option mentioned is Arsenal, as a replacement for the ongoing Mesut Ozil. However, the Gunners already have a "Real Madrid attacking-midfielder on loan" in Dani Ceballos. 

What about Spurs, just a few miles away? Nope. They have Gareth Bale. Probably not for long though.

Getafe has always been an option in the past - but the "Real Madrid attacking-midfielder on loan" space there has recently been allocated to Takefusa Kubo.

The Bundesliga? Borussia Dortmund! That's where Achraf Hakimi flourished on the wing. Well, the Brazilian player, Reinier has the "Real Madrid attacking-midfielder on loan" place nailed down.

Milan? - Sorry, Brahim Diaz is there. 

The Sports Burst live show will look into whether Real Madrid can a-fjord to let the Norwegian go in a season that has many, many, many more matches to run. 

Villarreal look to leapfrog above Barcelona 

One of those Real Madrid loanees is in action today on beIN SPORTS in LaLiga with Kubo now turning out for Getafe, after spending the first half of the season with Villarreal. 

That game against Huesca - still just the single win in 18 LaLiga games this season - gets the ball rolling in a very literal sense from 12:50PM ET. 

Betis vs. Celta Vigo will be on our sister service from 3PM ET, however beIN SPORTS is running with Villarreal taking on Granada in a tasty affair from 3:20PM ET. The Yellow Submarine dropped down to fifth place in the standings on Tuesday with Sevilla winning away at Alaves. However, Unai Emery's merry men can move into third - above Barcelona - with a victory over the rockbottom Azulgranas. 

On our beIN XTRA channel, a Marseille side that is really taking on water will try to stay afloat in the Ligue 1 title fight and focus on Lens in a match kicking off at 3PM ET that you can watch for absolutely free.

Looking for some morning entertainment? Then how about more action from the African Nations Championship - and actual fans in the stands - with hosts Cameroon playing Mali. Or how about Galatasaray hosting Denizlispor on beIN SPORTS. Both get underway from 11AM ET. 

Alaba now pondering over Barcelona move 

There is just time to squeeze in some transfer news. The world is still waiting for the official announcement of Mesut Ozil joining Fenerbahce. That can be expected probably as soon as this is published. 

Everyone needs to hold their horses on David Alaba joining Real Madrid as a free agent in the summer - that was Tuesday's vibe. Wednesday sees the Alaba camp apparently waiting to see if Joan Laporta wins the upcoming Barcelona elections to give another option for a summer move to LaLiga.