Will Manchester City continue their January spending spree?

So far, the Sky Blues have spent around £130m on a quartet of new recruits: Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush both made their debuts from the start against Chelsea on Saturday, Vitor Reis was an unused substitute, while Juma Bah has arrived from Real Valladolid, albeit he will spend the rest of the season on loan at Lens.

However, Pep Guardiola’s team are not done there, currently in a battle to sign one of Europe’s hottest prospects.

Man City chasing 18-year-old star

As reported by Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, Manchester City, as well as Arsenal and Aston Villa, are all attempting to sign Rosenborg midfielder Sverre Nypan.

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Nypan was reportedly in attendance at the Etihad on Saturday, but Miguel Delaney of the Independent believes Arsenal are currently “leading the race” to sign the 18-year-old after an update on Monday evening.

James McNicholas and David Ornstein of the Athletic report that the Norwegian is yet to make a “firm decision”, albeit Ed Aarons of the Guardian claims this decision is “close” to being finalised, adding a fee of £10m is expected.

So, who is Sverre Nypan, and why are some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs after him?

How Sverre Nypan compares to Kevin De Bruyne

Back in November 2022, at the age of just 15 years and 322 days, Nypan became the youngest player to ever feature for Rosenborg and the youngest player to ever play in an Eliteserien match, before becoming the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer, on target against champions Bodø/Glimt at Aspmyra in the Arctic Circle in May 2023.

Despite having only just celebrated his 18th birthday as recently as the week before Christmas, he’s now made 60 appearances for the Troillongan, scoring 13 goals and providing 11 assists, bagging a first-ever senior hat-trick against Lillestrøm back in August.

Given the way he’s adapted to senior football at such a young age, it’s hardly a surprise to note that Nypan’s performances in Norway have led to him receiving widespread praise and admiration.

James Westwood of Goal described him as “extremely exciting”, Jacek Kulig from Football Talent Scout claims he has a “huge future ahead”, while Ben Mattinson on Twitter believes he possesses “world-class potential”.

Meanwhile, in the Guardian’s Next Generation of 2023 series, Michael Yokhin praised Nypan’s “superb ability to read the game and vision”, which was on display when Rosenborg beat Heart of Midlothian 2-1 in a Europa Conference League qualifier at Lerkendal Stadion in August 2023, with the teenager providing both assists.

So, whoever does manage to snap up Nypan this month will have a gem on their hands, with Man City’s plan, as outlined by Gary Jacob of the Times, to loan him out to Girona, also owned by CFG, before integrating him into the first team at a later date, so will the teenager choose to join the Premier League champions?

If he does, he could well be the dream long-term replacement for Kevin De Bruyne. That said, with former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp believing the Belgian is the “Premier League’s best-ever midfielder”, there would be big shoes to fill.

Though, he is out of contract in the summer so a replacement will be needed. Nypan could be that man. Let’s see how the duo compare.

Appearances

53

112

Minutes

3,789

7,878

Goals

13

25

Goals per 90

0.31

0.29

Assists

7

55

Assists per 90

0.17

0.63

Shots

85

238

Shots per 90

2.02

2.79

Shots on target %

34.1%

35.3%

Obviously, comparing Nypan to De Bruyne is holding him to an astronomically high standard, but he does compare favourably, racking up higher goals per 90, albeit the Belgian’s assists per 90 is almost four times as high.

Nevertheless, only 14 players scored more Eliteserien goals than the 18-year-old last season, while he ranked sixth for assists in Norway’s top-flight, as well as 13th for shots.

Everything you hear, read and see about Nypan suggests he is a future superstar in the making, suggesting he would be an excellent signing for Man City as they attempt to replace the goals and assists of De Bruyne.

The teenager has already shown he can score and assist regularly so it’s certainly worth exploring a move.

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