Manchester City prodigy Sverre Nypan joins Boro on loan

Sverre Nypan, the 18-year-old midfielder who joined Manchester City from Rosenborg earlier this summer, has welcomed the opportunity to cut his teeth in English football at Championship side Middlesbrough.

The £12.5m Norway under-21 international, who agreed a five-year contract with City last month after attracting interest from a number of European teams including Arsenal and Aston Villa, has agreed a season-long loan at the Riverside Stadium.

Widely tipped to follow in the footsteps of fellow countrymen Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, Nypan has said it was always the intention to take his first steps in English football away from the unforgiving glare of the Etihad.

What did Sverre Nypan say about going out on loan to Middlesbrough?

“That was the plan,” said the midfielder, who first trained with the senior Rosenborg team at the age of 14. “Of course, getting into the first team [at Manchester City] is really difficult. 

“You need to play games when you’re my age. Hopefully I can help the team as much as possible – I can’t wait to get into the team and get to know the players. Hopefully, I can help as much as I can.

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“I haven’t gotten that used to English football yet. That’s why I think a loan to Middlesbrough is really nice: you can get used to English football. It’s a bit different from Norwegian football, so I think that’s perfect. Hopefully I can just learn as much as possible over the next year.”

History has shown Nypan is a quick study. The youngest player to line up for Rosenborg, historically Norway’s most successful club, he was just 15 years and 322 days when he made his first-team bow. 

‘I learned a lot from playing senior games at a young age’

By the time he left Trondheim, Nypan had made 70 appearances, scored 14 goals, and twice been crowned the Eliteserien’s young player of the year. He remains deeply grateful for the opportunities he was afforded so early in his career – even if it meant leaving his contemporaries behind.

“It’s been crucial,” said Nypan. “I was really lucky to get the chance that I got at such a young age. I took it and then I got more and more playing time, and I ended up playing almost three seasons with Rosenborg.

“I learned a lot from playing some senior games at a young age. It’s weird to come up that early, you play with none of your friends any more. The people that you play against, some are 15 years older than you are. 

“But I think it was nice to get it early so that you have a longer time to get used to it.”

Now he will seek to continue his development under new Boro head coach Rob Edwards, before graduating to the big time.

“It’s a dream for many young players in Norway to play in the Premier League,” said Nypan. “There are different ways to accomplish that. I took this road and I really believe that this is the way.”