Liverpool showed an interest in signing Martin Odegaard in 2019 according to his manager at Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands, Leonid Slutsky, before the Real Madrid-owned midfielder ended up on loan at Real Sociedad.
Last summer, suitors would likely have wanted a permanent deal, while Real Madrid would only sanction a temporary switch for a player they still firmly believe will make the grade.
Bayer Leverkusen - who have developed the likes of Julian Brandt and Kai Havertz in recent times - reportedly registered an interest, but Madrid thought, understandably, that the next stage in Odegaard's progression should come in Spain.
Not 22 until December, Odegaard was definitely on Liverpool's radar in 2015, when he chose to move to the Bernabeu for around €4million.
Both the Reds and Bayern Munich, as well as plenty of others around Europe, had shown him around their training facilities - he even trained with Liverpool's first team and Brendan Rodgers - but he opted to move to LaLiga.
For a player who is thought to have grown up a Liverpool fan, along with his father, and who idolised Lionel Messi, it was not the obvious choice.
The Reds were seemingly in the driving seat for the player's signature, but now the reason behind the eventual move after he toured Europe in search of the best destination to develop has been outlined.
Speaking on a speaking on a special Blood Red podcast, former professional footballer Jan Aage Fjortoft, now a broadcaster of German football and the Champions League, revealed why Real Madrid were the then-16-year-old's decision.
Fjortoft said: "He’s playing fantastically well now at Real Sociedad - they extended his contract at Real Madrid - and at that time, he made the right decision.
"It was quite simple: he couldn’t go into any first team - he could train with first teams [but not play].
Listen to the special Blood Red podcast with Jan Aage Fjortoft by clicking HERE
"He had to go where he would get most football and Real Madrid had a second team, coached at that time by a guy called Zinedine Zidane!
"For me, at that time, when I gave him advice, it was about where he could develop best."
Speaking back in 2015, Odegaard himself said: "I visited Liverpool, the two Manchester teams and they were all very nice but my choice was Real Madrid and I am very happy with that.
"Madrid is very good. It is the best place if you want to become a better footballer. I have been given the No 10 shirt (at Castilla) and it is a big responsibility having that number but it is the one that I like and I am just going to enjoy it."
© Denis Doyle/Getty Images Martin Odegaard from Norway holds his new Real Madrid shirt back in 2015
Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Arsenal were the other most prominent clubs in the discussion at that time - but none had a second team that was competitive enough to match his ability level.
In England, there is too much of a gap between Premier League 2, where U23 sides play, and the first-team, and it would perhaps not have been as beneficial for Odegaard to be playing regularly there.
At Bayern, a similar issue exists, while Erik ten Hag, who could have helped Odegaard considerably there, given the career he has gone on to have with Ajax, was to leave Bayern's youth set-up shortly after the deal was agreed.
Real Madrid's recent transfer policy, like Liverpool with the likes of Harvey Elliott, Sepp van den Berg and Ki-Jana Hoever, has been to recruit the very best talents in the world just before they reach an age where they would become vastly more expensive.
When Liverpool signed Elliott, indeed, Real Madrid wanted to beat the Reds to him, too, but the attacker did choose his boyhood club instead.
Odegaard, though, certainly falls into the same prodigiously talented category.
Fjortoft added: "The first time I saw him live was for Stromsgodset, and a friend of mine worked in recruitment at Arsenal and he rang me up and said ‘what do you know about Martin Odegaard?’.
"Incidentally, I was going to watch them the next day against Valerenga and I said, ‘I will call you when I know about him’.
"I was looking at him in the warm-up and saw seven minutes of the game and said, ‘this is it’. You could see it straight away.
"Martin is now 21 - Luka Modric was 23 when he came to Madrid, so he is still a young man. Martin can end up wherever he wants to end up."
As much as for now the focus is only on making it in Madrid, a move to England cannot be ruled out in the future.
In Norway, the Premier League remains hugely popular and for both Odegaard and fellow starlet Erling Haaland, a switch to England in the future would make a great deal of sense.
Fjortoft concluded: "He is one of the best midfielders in LaLiga and we will see how long it is before Real Madrid take him back.
"All Norwegians want to play in England, so I can see that happening, but he is now so close to Real Madrid."
Certainly, anyone who thought he had flopped at Real Madrid has been proven wrong with his performances for Real Sociedad this season.
His seven goals and eight assists from midfield this year have helped fire Sociedad towards the Champions League places and they are just a point off third place as things stand.
Should Sociedad finish inside the top four when the season is completed in Spain, then Odegaard is likely to remain on loan there for another year, before then getting his chance at his parent club.
There is no suggestion that Real Madrid are looking to move on their young star - quite the opposite in fact.
But if they ever do, Liverpool could possibly be near the front of the queue for Odegaard's signature - and, crucially, the main reason they missed out on him first time around will no longer be relevant.
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