The gifted teenager has completed a £12.5m move to the Etihad Stadium after making a record-breaking start to his career in Norway
"Sverre Nypan is extremely exciting, and I get a bit of the same feeling as when I saw Martin Odegaard break through as a boy," Norwegian football expert Jesper Mathisen told in August 2023, after watching the 16-year-old star for Rosenborg in a Conference League qualifier against Hearts.
At the same age, Odegaard had already signed for Real Madrid after generating a huge buzz at Stromsgodset, but most would agree that move came too early for him. Odegaard would only make 11 senior appearances in six years at Santiago Bernabeu, and was sent out on loan four times before he joined Arsenal permanently in 2021 and really started to fulfil his potential.
Nypan could have taken a similar route. Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain have all reportedly been tracking the teenager since his graduation to the Rosenborg first team in 2022, according to reports in Norway. The allure of playing for the best clubs in the world often proves impossible to resist for young players, but not Nypan, as he signed a contract extension with Rosenborg a month after the European clash with Hearts, which tied him to the club until 2026.
Fast-forward almost two years, and Nypan's mature decision has paid off, as it allowed him to earn plenty of senior experience before completing a move to Manchester City this week. Nypan is no longer a raw talent still learning his trade; he's ready to pursue greatness at the Etihad Stadium.
Where it all began
Nypan was born in Trondheim, Norway's third-largest city, in December 2006. He showed an interest in football from a very young age, and after turning five, joined district club Nardo FK, who are situated just a stone's throw away from Rosenborg's famed Lerkendal Stadion.
Success wasn't immediate for Nypan, though. "I wasn't any good then. In the first training session, I think I scored an own goal and ran home screaming," he said in an interview with in 2022. "It wasn't fun, but then I was persuaded to try again."
With a supportive family around him, Nypan soon overcame those teething problems to emerge as a real prospect over his next eight years with Nardo. As a 14-year-old, he notched a staggering 45 goals in 17 games, which caught the attention of Rosenborg.
Nypan joined Rosenborg's youth ranks in 2020 and signed his first professional contract in January 2022, spending the next year combining school lessons with first-team duties at one of Norway's biggest clubs. Nypan made his Eliteserien debut as he played the full 90 minutes in a 4-2 victory over Jerv that November, which saw him become the youngest player in Rosenborg's history at just 15 years and 322 days old.
"It was better than I thought. I thought I would be much more nervous," Nypan said of the experience. He probably would have made his bow much sooner, had it not been for several injury setbacks, but he dealt with each one in a mature fashion.
"I got a lot stronger and put on a few kilos during that period," Nypan added. "It really only helped me. I have become a better player after the injury period than I was before."
AdvertisementGettyThe big break
Comparisons to Odegaard naturally began to spring up after Nypan's debut, given the Arsenal captain also burst onto the scene at Stromsgodset at the same age, but then-Rosenborg boss Kjetil Rekdal did his best to shut them down. "Sverre is probably bigger and physically stronger at the same time than Martin Odegaard was, but then he was perhaps a different type of player than Sverre, who is an all-rounder," Rekdal told .
Nypan missed the first four games of the 2023 campaign, but certainly appeared in top physical shape when he eventually returned to action, and opened his goal account for Rosenborg in a 3-2 defeat to Bodo/Glimt, tapping home at the back post after a swift counter-attack. Rekdal talked up Nypan's "enormous potential" after the match, with the teenager setting another new record as Rosenborg's youngest-ever goal-scorer in the Eliteserien.
When it was put to Nypan that pressure doesn't seem to affect him, he responded: "What pressure? There is nothing to be afraid of." That confident attitude, bordering on arrogance, is another hallmark of a potential superstar.
Nypan would finish his first full league season with five goals, but it was his performance against Hearts in the first leg of Rosenborg's Conference League third-round qualifier that really made fans across the continent start to take notice. The academy graduate provided both the assists in a huge 2-1 victory.
His performance left team-mate Emil Frederiksen in awe, as the scorer of Rosenborg's first goal added: "He is an incredibly skilled player. He has a great future ahead of him. It is only to be enjoyed that he is here, because he is really, really talented." Hearts ultimately progressed after a 3-1 win in the second leg, but that didn't deter Nypan from committing to fresh terms at Rosenborg.
GettyHow it's going
After that contract renewal, Rosenborg's sports manager, Mikael Dorsin, leaned into suggestions that the club had placed a €100 million (£84m/$110m) price tag on Nypan. "That it is at the levels that he is delivering now," Dorsin said to .
Nypan seemingly made it his mission to justify that valuation in the 2024 season. He racked up 15 goal contributions in 28 league appearances, helping Rosenborg secure a fourth-placed finish while earning 53 points, 14 more than they managed in the whole of the previous campaign.
Nypan's standout display came in a 4-0 rout of Lillestrom, as he became the first 17-year-old to score a hat-trick in the Eliteserien since a certain Erling Haaland, who achieved the feat for Molde back in 2007. The original meeting between the two clubs at Lerkendal was abandoned due to fans hurling objects onto the pitch in protest at a VAR decision, including fishcakes and smoke bombs. As punishment, Rosenborg played the rescheduled game behind closed doors, but some die-hard supporters still showed up to watch from the hill situated just outside the far left corner of the stadium, and Nypan hilariously cupped his hand to his ear to demand more noise from them when celebrating his first goal.
That natural penchant for showmanship also shone through when Nypan had the opportunity to play against Manchester United in a friendly clash during the summer of 2024. Rosenborg pulled off a shock 1-0 victory over the Premier League giants and Nypan tormented their defence in his 45 minutes on the pitch; beating four players in one particularly eye-catching sequence before forcing United goalkeeper Radek Vitek into a superb save.
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Biggest strengths
Nypan typically lined up on the left in a midfield three for Rosenborg, with manager Alfred Johansson favouring a 4-3-3 system that allowed the 18-year-old the freedom to express himself. He's versatile enough to operate as a deep-lying playmaker, in a box-to-box role, as a winger, or a traditional attacking midfielder, and is equally strong with both feet while being adept at finding pockets of space to exploit between the lines.
Rosenborg gradually rose back towards the top of the Eliteserien largely due to Nypan's direct style of play. He boasts a wicked turn of pace and is already an accomplished ball-carrier who relishes one-on-one battles.
The Norwegian's passing range is developing at a rapid rate, and he provides a huge goal threat with his late runs into the box. He's defensively solid, too, setting the tone for the rest of the team with his relentless pressing.
It's still very early to judge Nypan, especially as he's yet to test himself in one of Europe's top five leagues, but he has all the makings of a world-class player, including an excellent footballing brain.