Aston Villa and Arsenal have been told the asking price for a shared transfer target.
Rosenborg have reportedly informed Aston Villa and other clubs interested in Sverre Nypan how much they’ll have to pay to sign the promising midfielder this summer.
Villa have been in the driving seat to sign Nypan for several months but face competition from Arsenal, as well as the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund. It’s still a wide open race but Villa have held several bouts of talks with Rosenborg and the player’s representatives.
Seen as one of Europe’s most talented midfield prospects, Nypan is spoken about in the same breath as Norwegian success stories Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard and Antonio Nusa. The 18-year-old has become a star player for Rosenborg - historically the most successful team in Norwegian football - and is nearing a senior Norway call-up following five appearances for his nation’s under-21 side.
Nypan wasn’t quite young enough on his Rosenborg debut to displace Odegaard as the youngest player in Eliteserien history, but his rapid adaptation and progression has been no less impressive. The teenager made his Rosenborg bow aged just 15 and he has already racked up 68 appearances, 14 goals and 11 assists, totalling over 4,700 senior minutes. He remains both the youngest debutant and youngest scorer in Rosenborg history.
With the transfer window opening in just over a fortnight, on June 1, Villa are expected to up the ante in their pursuit of Nypan. And they’ve now been told how much they’ll have to pay to sign the teenager, as Mail Sport reports Rosenborg are “expecting to receive up to £20 million”.
Arsenal are still said to be firmly in the race but Villa believe they can offer a faster route into the first team than the Gunners. Once the season is over, talks are likely to accelerate to get the deal over the line.
How would Sverre Nypan fit in at Aston Villa?
Predominantly a central midfielder but also capable of playing as a number 10 or even as a false nine, Nypan is versatile and could be utilised in a variety of ways by Villa boss Unai Emery.
Nypan is a well-rounded midfielder, perhaps even more so than Odegaard who operates solely as a number eight for Arsenal. The teenager is a strong passer, has good spacial awareness, is able to beat an opponent on the half turn and often arrives late in the box to score goals.
It would be very difficult to displace the likes of Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara in the starting XI, but Nypan could perhaps initially rotate in for the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and European fixtures while he beds in. An experiment could perhaps take place with him as a wide midfielder drifting in, too, just how John McGinn so often does.
Regardless of whether he can make an immediate impact, Nypan has the potential to become a key player for Villa. Emery, so good at working with youngsters, is bound to have a plan to get the most out of him.
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