Real Madrid round-up: Super Cup, Odriozola, Courtois, Odegaard...
In today's round-up: teams and fans head to Estonia, Courtois' agent speaks to BBC, Odriozola injury update, Odegaard linked with loan move to England.
Estonia bound
Real and Atlético fans are escaping the intense Madrid heat for a much cooler Tallinn, the Estonian capital which hosts the UEFA Super Cup final on Wednesday night. Three thousand fans will descend on the city between today and tomorrow. Lopetegui’s men left Madrid's Barajas Airport at 16.30 (CEST) while Atlético took off at 15.00. This is the third final outside of Spain between the two Madrid clubs. The first was in Lisbon in 2014, and the second in Milan in 2016. This is also the first time the European Super Cup will be played against teams from the same city. ¡Madrid, el capital de fútbol!
Odriozola medical report
It hasn’t been the greatest start to his Real Madrid career. After signing from Real Sociedad for 35 million euros in June, Alvaro Odriozola picked up a muscle injury in training ahead of the preseason game against Roma, which would have been his third appearance for Los Blancos. Julen Lopetegui was hoping he would be available for the game on Wednesday, but Real Madrid’s official medical report, released earlier this Monday, states the player is still in recovery.
“After the tests carried out today by the Real Madrid Sanitas Medical Services on our player Álvaro Odriozola, he has been diagnosed with a grade one injury in the abductor of the right leg. His recovery will continue to be assessed,” states the report.
Courtois’ agent speaks to BBC
In an interview with BBC Radio 5 live, Thibaut Courtois’ agent, Christophe Henrotat, admitted that if the Belgian international’s family were in London, he would not have left Chelsea. It has been well reported that the player’s main motivation to return to Madrid, where he played with Atlético for three seasons, was to be closer to his two children, who live with his former partner in the Spanish capital.
“It’s true that some players force moves and it’s also the case that Thibaut was under a lot of stress over the situation because Real Madrid had made an offer and he had the opportunity to go. He suffered stress because he thought it wasn’t going to go through,” Henrotat told the BBC.
Odegaard linked with move to England
Reports in the British press have linked Martin Odegaard with a move to England. The 19-year-old may leave the Bernabeu to continue his development in the Championship (England’s second division), with Derby and Aston Villa reportedly interested in a loan deal.
Oscar Rodriguez set to join Leganes on loan
Another Castilla graduate looks set to leave Real Madrid City this season. Madrid and Leganes are negotiating a loan agreement for Oscar Rodriguez, which will give the 20-year-old a chance to begin the development of his career in the LaLiga Primera Division. Rodriguez has yet to make his LaLiga debut, but did make one appearance for Zinedine Zidane last season in the Spanish Cup against Fuenlabrada.
