FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is a big fan of Martin Odegaard and the Spanish club are eyeing a potential £70M move.

Reports in Spain suggest that Hansi Flick has personally identified Odegaard as one of the priority signings for his Barcelona rebuild. The German coach is said to admire the Norwegian’s vision, pressing intensity and ability to dictate tempo in the final third. For a Barcelona side still searching for a true long term heir to their great playmakers of the past, Odegaard fits the technical and tactical profile almost perfectly.

Barcelona’s recruitment team are believed to have done early groundwork on a possible £70 million move, sounding out what it would take to even bring Arsenal to the table. That figure would place Odegaard among the most expensive signings in Barça’s recent history, underlining just how highly Flick and the club rate the Arsenal captain. In Catalonia, there is a quiet belief that Odegaard’s style could be the key to restoring some of the old Camp Nou swagger.

Arsenal’s stance, however, is clear and firm. Despite the growing noise from Spain, the Gunners have no intention of selling their 26 year old playmaker. Club sources insist that Odegaard is central to Mikel Arteta’s long term project and that no realistic offer would tempt them into negotiations. For Arsenal, this is not a typical transfer rumour. It is a direct approach for the man who sets the standard in their dressing room.

Odegaard’s importance to Arsenal goes far beyond goals and assists. As captain, he is the one who leads the press, sets the tone in training and connects the manager’s tactical ideas to the players on the pitch. When Arsenal need control in big matches, it is usually Odegaard who drops into pockets of space, receives under pressure and calms everything down. Arteta has built much of his attacking structure around that combination of bravery on the ball and work rate off it.

Financially, Arsenal are also under no pressure to sell. Having tied Odegaard down to a long term contract and built a squad that is competing at the top of the Premier League and in Europe, the club see him as a foundation piece rather than a tradeable asset. Letting him go now, just as the team is maturing into genuine title contenders, would undermine years of planning and send the wrong message to both fans and the dressing room.

From Barcelona’s point of view, the attraction is obvious. Flick wants a midfielder who can both press aggressively and create in tight spaces. Odegaard’s performances in England have shown that he can thrive in a high intensity system while still providing the subtle touches and line breaking passes that Barça supporters demand. In theory, he would slot perfectly into a midfield three alongside their emerging young talents.

The problem for Barça is timing. Arsenal are entering what they believe is a golden window. With a young core, a settled manager and a squad that has grown together through near misses and big nights, this is not a team looking to cash in on its leaders. Any attempt to unsettle Odegaard now risks hardening Arsenal’s stance even more and turning a speculative admiration into a public standoff.

There is also the question of the player’s own priorities. Odegaard has spoken repeatedly about how much he values stability and how much he enjoys being at the centre of a project where he is trusted and empowered. At Arsenal he is captain, key creator and one of the first names on the team sheet. Moving to Barcelona would bring glamour, but also new competition, new pressure and less certainty about his role in the long term.

Inside the Emirates, the message being sent is that top clubs can look but not touch. After spending years rebuilding their reputation and squad, Arsenal are determined to act like a team at the top of the food chain, not a selling club. Blocking any move for Odegaard is part of that shift in mentality. If they want to keep challenging for the biggest trophies, they know they cannot afford to lose the very players that made that step up possible.

For now, Barcelona’s interest remains exactly that: interest. Their admiration for Odegaard is real, and their willingness to invest heavily in a marquee signing is no secret. But unless Arsenal radically change their position, any potential £70 million move will stay on paper rather than on the pitch. The Gunners see their captain as untouchable, and they are acting like it.

As the season progresses and the next transfer window approaches, this story is likely to resurface. Barcelona are not known for giving up easily on players they like, and Odegaard’s performances will only increase his appeal across Europe. Yet every time he leads Arsenal out, dictates another big game and celebrates in front of the Emirates crowd, the logic behind keeping him becomes stronger. For Arsenal, resisting Barça’s interest is not just a financial decision. It is a statement about where they are and where they intend to go.