Bayern Munich have made signing 16-year-old Norwegian prodigy Martin Ødegaard a priority, and the German giants are willing to do anything it takes in order to acquire the young midfielder’s signature, according to the Spanish newspaper Marca.

Ødegaard has been tipped to join the Bundesliga champions by the German press, with most Spanish papers predicting European champions Real Madrid could still pip Bayern Munich and sign the young starlet.

But today Marca has broken ranks from the rest of Spanish media and tipped Pep Guariola’s side as the favorites to land the Norwegian international.

The newspaper reports that Bayern have offered the 16-year-old midfielder a five-year contract and a salary that would make him the highest-paid youth player in the history of football – even topping some of the club’s established players.

Marca believes that Ødegaard’s initial season in Germany would see him earn 1 million euros (£787,000), which would then increase up to 2.5 million euros (£1.96 million).

If the figures are correct, no other European club has come close to matching Bayern Munich’s offer and Real Madrid (their biggest competitor) are not willing to get into a bidding war over the player.

It was rumored that Ødegaard favored a move to Barcelona, but the Catalan club is out of the running because of their current transfer embargo – which will see them banned from making signings until January 2016. Barcelona have appealed their transfer ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with a decision on their case to be announced in the coming days.

Guardiola’s ability to develop youth players is working to his favor in this situation. And the fact that the German giants are willing to back their faith up in the player with significant money is also a bonus.

Ødegaard has worked out for a number of top clubs including: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Liverpool. He is scheduled to visit Ajax around New Years Day.

The midfielder’s father has asked other teams interested in signing his son for more time to decide on his future.