Ødegaard has always been the type of player that needs good team mates to fully realize his extreme playmaking talent. If a team can get him on the ball and make good movements off the ball he'll sew it all together with ease. Castilla was a joke when he was there, with shite pitches and low-quality team mates for the most part. He didn't really have the right setup at Heerenveen either, but it got better at Vitesse. Now he's the playmaker in one of the most exciting attacking teams in the league and it's no coincidence that he's ripping teams to shreds on his own. I could see that coming from miles away. Even when he was 15 he was pretty much a ready-made playmaking genius with all the technical ability in the world, just trapped in a kid's body. What really has impressed me, however, is how much his defensive game and physique has improved. It's great to see that combination of talent and work ethic. He's going to become a truly frightening player if he keeps this up.
It'll be a lot of fun to see what he can do with Bale, Benzema, Rodrygo, Vinicius and a hopefully slimmer and more motivated Hazard, most likely already next season. God help us all if he ends up at City within the next four or five years, though. Ødegaard in his prime unde Pep, especially if they still have KDB and Bernardo, would basically be a cheat code. At least Liverpool wouldn't be winning the league any time soon.