Manchester City have signed 18-year-old midfielder Sverre Nypan and there is excitement about his potential back in Norway.
When 14-year-olds lose a game of football 10-1, there can be a tendency to sulk and take their ball home. Not Sverre Nypan. The Manchester City new boy survived that demoralising scoreline in the UEFA Youth League, but there were no tears, only a steely resolve.
He was part of a young Rosenborg Under-19 team that took on FC Midtjylland in UEFA’s youth competition in October 2021, and the experience was sobering for many involved. Not Nypan, however. He didn’t enjoy it, but he did take something from it, as Rosenborg’s former academy boss Roar Vikvang told the Manchester Evening News.
“After the match, one of the only players to speak was Sverre, and he was focused. He said, ‘They have really good players. I have to go home to train,” said Vikvang.
“Their players were three and four years older than him, but that didn’t matter to him. He was only focusing on the quality and wanted to go home to train to be as good as them.
“And now, at the same age, he is much better than the players he met at that time at the same age. No excuses, only focusing on hard work. What can I do?”
Nypan’s rise has been smooth ever since. He had only recently signed for Rosenborg but made a first-team debut at 15 and made 70 appearances for the Norwegian giants before signing for Manchester City on Thursday.
The 18-year-old joined the Blues for £12.5million and is expected to go out on loan for the 2025/26 season, although if no deal is agreed before July 28, he will join up with the rest of Pep Guardiola’s squad for first-team training. So what sort of player are City getting?
“He has good technical skills,” said Vikvang. “He understands the play. He’s quite fast as a central midfielder. He can use both feet, finishing with both feet, and also with the head. He scores a decent number of goals from a midfield position.
“But I think his best characteristic is how mature he is on the pitch. Compared to the Norwegian level, he’s really, really good for his age, no doubt.”
The list of clubs that have looked at Nypan is lengthy. Arsenal and Aston Villa were linked with him during this transfer window, and Paris St-Germain and Manchester United last year.
At 14, he joined Rosenborg from Nardo, and his dad, Arne, continues to take a hands-on role in plotting his son’s career. The family wanted him to stay at Rosenborg and develop through games rather than rushing to make the next move.
“At that time [we signed him], we already knew that clubs abroad were watching him, and I also think some Danish clubs tried to bring him there. But Sverre and his family are patient; they are always looking for the next best step,” said Vikvang.
“He has lived at home with his parents until now and has developed in conditions he knows very well. I’m sure he’s ready for the next step; it’s no problem at all. But this kind of route has existed for a long time, and I think they wanted to wait until Sverre was ready, and now he is.”
Nypan has 14 goals and 11 assists from his 70 games for Rosenborg. He has played in midfield and across the front line. But Vikvang expects the versatile youngster to eventually nail down a role in central midfield, with an eye for goal.
Asked what his best position will be, Vikvang said: “As a central midfielder, but I think his best position is at number eight because he’s covering the space from the box to the other box. And I think he’ll have to play further forward so they can use his finishing skills.
“He can also deal with playing number six or a number 10, but I think a number eight is his best position.”
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Nypan might get his first taste of training with Guardiola and City’s star-studded squad – including countrymen Oscar Bobb and Erling Haaland – later this month, but a loan move for this season is expected.
That will give him a chance to continue gaining experience before trying to make it at the Etihad, and Vikvang is confident that, in a couple of years, Nypan will be ready.
“He’s going to one of the biggest clubs in the world among the best players in the world, and he’s still only 18,” he said.
“But I have seen what the Norwegian players like (Martin) Odegaard and Haaland have done in the Premier League. A lot of Norwegians have had success in the Premier League.
“I think Sverre also has the quality to grow into it, but of course, it’s a great step up. I don’t think Sverre or the family believe he can go straight into the first team starting line-up, but give him two years and I think he can be really important for Manchester City.”