Aperribay: Real Madrid are a gentlemanly club and Odegaard has things clear Real Sociedad Believes Norwegian won't return early to Los Blancos

Real Sociedad are still on cloud nine after their fantastic 4-3 victory over Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey quarter-final on Thursday evening, yet club president Jokin Aperribay is even more confident that Martin Odegaard will remain at the club for the second year of his loan spell.

Los Blancos were unsure just what to do with the Norwegian playmaker in the summer, with Ajax interested in signing him permanently to replace Frenkie de Jong, yet eventually the decision was made to send him to San Sebastian on a two-year loan in the hope he could adapt to Spanish football.

What has happened since is scarcely believable, with Odegaard performing exceptionally well and arguably becoming the best player in LaLiga Santander after Lionel Messi on current form.

As such, it's hardly surprising that rumours have emerged suggesting Los Merengues will look to recall the former Stromsgodset star back early from his loan deal in the summer.

However, Aperribay doesn't expect Real Madrid to make any underhanded moves, and he believes their reputation will see them respect the initially agreed upon terms.

"Real Madrid are a gentlemanly club," Aperribay explained.

"We signed [him for two years]... Odegaard has things very clear

"We hope everything stays how it is.

"Having said that, he's Real Madrid's player, and if we have to talk, we'll talk."

The reality is that this topic isn't going away, and the better Odegaard plays in the next few months then the louder shouts for his return will become.

He's already had his Fernando Morientes moment, scoring a goal which helped knock his parent club out of a tournament, and many believe he would be a guaranteed starter at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu next season.

The midfielder, of course, has doubts, and is preferring to wait until the end of the season to make a decision.

Odegaard doesn't want to return to a team where there are a blockade of central midfielders ahead of him; he has painful memories of his time with Los Merengues in previous years, where football was almost impossible to come by.

Luka Modric's future may well influence the decision making at boardroom level at Valdebebas, with the Croatian midfielder possibly heading towards the exit door in the summer.

Zinedine Zidane, as per the terms for his return to the club, has a significant say in recruitment matters and will want to shape the team how he sees fit ahead of the 2020/21 season.

However, at this moment he is very impressed by the performances of Odegaard, not least the fact that the player appears to have developed physically.

The former Castilla coach now sees Odegaard as a serviceable football player, something which he doubted in his first spell in charge.

In Madrid, they believe it's time for the Norwegian to return, however the problem is that the two-year loan was tightly agreed upon, albeit there is a chance of a recall.