Real Madrid's Martin Odegaard eyes January loan after Rennes frustration

Real Madrid's teenage playmaker Martin Odegaard is not ruling out a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the January transfer window.

Norway international Odegaard, 17, had been set to move to French Ligue 1 side Rennes this summer on a season-long loan deal to aid his development.

However, FIFA regulations concerning under-18 players prevented Odegaard from joining a foreign club.

Odegaard, who will turn 18 on Dec. 17, told Dagbladet: "There is a new transfer window in January, so we will see what happens during the year."

The attacking midfielder has played only 32 minutes in La Liga since leaving Stromsgodset for Spain in January 2015.

Former Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who handed Odegaard his debut for the club in the last game of the 2014-15 campaign, recently claimed the teenager's signing was a "public relations" move and that he had not wanted the player.

Clubs including Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United were keen to sign him at the time but Real beat them all to his signature.

Odegaard played for Real's reserve side, Castilla, in 2015-16 and scored just once. He was left on the bench for key playoff games as Castilla failed to win promotion to the Spanish second division for a second straight season.

Odegaard went on a preseason tour with Real's first team this summer but will continue to play for Castilla in Spain's third tier, though he has not given up hope of earning a place on Zinedine Zidane's star-studded squad.

"Of course, I also want to play first-team football one day, so we'll have to take it as it comes," he said.

The Drammen-born player does not regret his move to Madrid.

"I feel more mature as a player and as a person," he said. "I feel I've become tougher and have a better physique. I feel I've taken big steps and I'm developing all the time. I just need to score more goals."

Odegaard was not selected by Norway coach Per-Mathias Hogmo for their 2018 World Cup qualifier against Germany on Sunday.

However, he was included in the Norway under-21 squad for the game against England on Sept. 6, a crucial match in the qualification race for next summer's European U21 Championship in Poland.