Middlesbrough fans are certain to take Sverre Nypan to their hearts this season – because he is clearly a huge star in the making.
Manchester City have no doubts about the Norwegian’s qualities, having paid Rosenborg £12.5m for his services and handed him a five-year contract. By all accounts, City beat off interest from Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa to sign him. If he achieves his potential in England, his transfer fee will be a steal.
The only disappointment will come for we Boro fans next summer, when he returns to the Etihad. If you believe all the reports which have emanated from Norway, then Nypan has got it all, perhaps other than the added experience which comes with age.
He’s been named Norway’s Young Player of the Year for the past two seasons and he has played for his country at every international level except the full international side.
Sverre is largely regarded as an orthodox central midfielder, but he can operate comfortably as an attacking midfielder, a winger, or a centre-forward. He can play with either foot, is quick and pacey and is a good dribbler, being able to take on and beat the burliest of defenders. Phew!
As a result, Nypan is being widely tipped, not surprisingly, to eventually become one of the best midfielders in the whole of Europe.
He made Rosenborg debut as a 15-year-old and gradually progressed to becoming a first team regular, playing in 28 of the club’s 30 league games last season, scoring eight goals, including a hat-trick in a 4-0 win against Lillestrom.
City certainly knew what they were doing when they signed him. It made sense for the Premier League side to loan Nypan straight out to Boro, because he should get valuable pitch time here which he would have probably needed to wait for at the Etihad.
Even so, there’s still plenty of competition here, whether it’s in the middle of the park or in attack. Boro’s ability to hang on to Hayden Hackney before the transfer window closed was a massiveachievement. It’s interesting to hear the theory spouted that Hackney and Aidan Morris are the best central midfield pairing in the Championship. I won’t argue with that one.
There may be room for one other face in the engine room on match days, depending on which formation is favoured by Rob Edwards. Sunderland on-loan midfielder Alan Browne will certainly be determined to show that he has not come here simply to add another name to the squad.
So the competition in this part of the pitch will be a strong as ever. Boro have compensated well for the loss of Jonny Howson. There’s also another new signing to consider in Abdoulaye Kante, though early impressions are thatthe Ivorian may need a little longer to fully get his feet under the table in English football. Whatever happens, Nypan may prove too good to hold back.