RONNY DEILA always acknowledged that it was the longest of shots, hoping that mentoring would trump megabucks in the chase for the hottest property in the game.
Those hopes looked to be finally dashed yesterday when Martin Odegaard opted to sign for Real Madrid.
The 16-year-old Norwegian prodigy has been at the centre of the most public of courtships with every European club worth their salt stepping forward as suitors. With Barcelona, the United and City of Manchester, Bayern Munich and a whole pile more at the head of the posse, Deila was banking on his personal role in Odegaard's development swinging the chase Celtic's way.
With the race now seemingly run - Odegaard was in Spain yesterday with his father and agent to tie up terms with Real - Deila will fall back into the role of interested observer as the tyro now tries to live up to a world of hype and expectation.
It's understood Madrid - who have already allocated the No.16 jersey for a player who only celebrated that birthday three weeks ago - are happy for Norway's youngest ever international to stay with his current club Stromsgodset for the time being before linking up with Cristiano Ronaldo and Co in the summer.
It was at Stromsgodset where Celtic manager Deila first came in contact with Odegaard handing the midfielder his debut in a friendly at a barely-believable age of 13.
"He's never stopped surprising me," Deila said three months ago, while the chase for the teen was really hotting up. "You put him on a stage and he takes his chance. But you can see his mentality. In press conferences, he talks like he is 35 years old and he loves his football. He's not just a natural talent and hard working with his legs. He's very bright in the head as well. Two years ago, he played for me in the first team at 13½ years old.
"I put him into a training match on the wing. He didn't run backwards, but he made no mistakes going forward, even though we lost 5-1. The next year, he was in and out of training.
"When he just turned 15, we were in La Manga and he went onto the pitch in the final [of a tournament] against Astra. He came on for the last 20 minutes and made the winning goal as we won 1-0 and got the club €50,000."
Deila handed him his competitive debut last April with Odegaard then a marginally more mature 15 years and 117 days old. While the manager jumped ship for the Scottish champions in June, his former charge continued to shine, scoring five goals in 23 league games and breaking records by making his competitive international debut for Norway.
"He was lifting his level and starting games when I left Stromsgodset. Now he's regular and going to the national team, so he's improving every year," said Deila.
"I haven't worked so much with him. Just one and a half years, so I won't take credit for him. But there are some great talents at Stromsgodset and that is something I am proud of."
Former Norwegian international defender John Arne Riise, who himself moved abroad as a teenager, was among those sounding a note of caution yesterday, warning there's too much pressure on his compatriot's shoulders.
'I feel a bit sorry for the boy,' Riise told a Norwegian newspaper. 'With anticipation the pressure rises. It makes people expect a lot. But he does seem to have his feet firmly on the ground and it seems like he has a great family around him.
'Even so, it will be tough for him now. People are wary of him and people will look out for him.'
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