With Aston Villa reportedly stepping up our pursuit of Rosenborg starlet Sverre Nypan, could we land one of Europe’s most sought-after young talents?
As per David Ornstein last week, Villa have been in talks to land the 18-year-old’s signature, and although it was reported that he’s keen on a move, no agreement had yet been reached.
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A week on, and Nettavisen report that Villa’s President of Football Operations, Monchi, had travelled to Oslo to watch the top prospect in action, but again, although talks were held over the details of a potential move, discussions were held with his father and it’s reiterated that Nypan is eager to join us, there is still no formal deal in place.
In turn, it remains to be seen if Villa ultimately get it over the line and land an exciting and top young talent to bolster Unai Emery’s squad, but who is Nypan and why are we so keen on him?
Nypan one of the top prospects in Europe
The teenager operates as a natural central midfielder, but with 14 goals and 11 assists in 63 appearances at senior level after coming through the youth ranks at Rosenborg, he’s shown his quality in the final third.
Capped at U21s level for Norway already, he appears to have a bright future ahead of him for club and country, and time will tell if the next chapter in his career brings him to B6.
In terms of his ability though, he looks an exciting prospect. Comfortable with both feet, he boasts stand-out technical ability, composure, control and vision to pick out a pass while having the balance and poise to carry the ball with purpose and beat players with his close-control and skill on the ball.
Further, that technical quality allows him to provide a goalscoring threat in front of goal with his finishing, and he certainly looks as though he has intelligence and positional awareness when he plays to find pockets of space in the attacking third.
Naturally, at just 18 years of age, he still has plenty of room for improvement and learning to do as he gains experience, while he’ll fill out as he gets older to hopefully help with the physical challenges of the Premier League, should he opt to join us.
Comparisons have been made with compatriot Martin Odegaard, and when analysing the clips below, it’s certainly easy to see why given their similar style of play and areas in which they operate.
From a more direct Villa perspective, Nypan arguably looks like a younger and more raw Marco Asensio-type player, and so if the Spaniard doesn’t see his loan stint become a permanent deal at the end of the season, we could be lining up a longer-term solution.
It could be argued that having both would be the ideal outcome for Nypan to learn and improve alongside Asensio, but time will tell how our summer transfer window plays out off the back of how our season ends.
Nypan has the potential to become a top player, as it’s clear that he has the ability and characteristics which make him an exciting prospect. It remains to be seen if it’s Villa who land his signature and subsequently draft in one of the top young talents in Europe, who is certainly not short of options for what will be a major next step in his career.
