Bundesliga pundit and former Middlesbrough striker Jan Aage Fjortoft has revealed how Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola wanted to sign Martin Odegaard for Bayern Munich.

Fjortoft also admits the Real Madrid midfielder Odegaard is a huge Liverpool fan.

He recalled to Fabrizio Romano's podcast, 'Here we go': "Later, when we returned, I, as coach of the Norwegian national team, invited Martin, his father and the coach of the national team to my house. At that time I wrote down on a paper, I like the drama, what four clubs that at that moment I thought were closer to signing Odegaard. Liverpool, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid."

Fjørtoft, who although was not Odegaard's agent, did advise his father directly, recounted insights from those days when the young footballer was deciding his future.

“As you know, Liverpool was his favourite club, it was his favourite club as a child. I still think that the reason why he ended up at Real Madrid was quite simple, in my opinion. First of all, Real Madrid had a second team, the other three clubs did not. The second team coach was Zinedine Zidane. He's not a bad player, he's not a bad coach!"

Fjortoft was on the coaching panel of the Norwegian FA at the time as Odegaard was spotted by Guardiola during a youth tournament in Qatar.

On what Guardiola said to him, Fjortoft added: "You have to bring that boy to Munich, you have to bring him to Munich! I will make him the best player in the world…"