Sverre Nypan: “Very plausible” Lyon loan move given green light as Man City’s ‘new transfer strategy’ becomes clear

The “very exciting” arrival of Manchester City-bound Sverre Nypan at the Etihad Stadium signals the “continuation of a new strategy” under director of football Hugo Viana, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.

Having already signed four new players this month ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup, the addition of a fifth player at Man City is on the horizon as they have reportedly agreed a £12.5m fee with Norwegian outfit Rosenborg to sign highly-rated midfielder Nypan.

The 18-year-old is scheduled to undergo a medical in Manchester on Monday before signing a five-year contract and finalising his move to the Premier League giants.

Nypan is set to become the latest young prospect after the likes of Claudio Echeverri, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Juma Bah and Rayan Cherki to join Man City.

While some of those players have already been integrated into Pep Guardiola’s senior squad, others like Nypan are expected to head out on loan in the 2025-26 season, and McInerney can “see the logic” behind this fresh approach under Viana in targeting some of the world’s brightest starlets.

“[Nypan is a] very exciting footballer,” McInerney told Sports Mole. “I had no idea how highly rated he is. He's been playing for a couple of years now already... and you'd expect anyone who plays that young probably has the physicality already, and he does.

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Viana “has got an eye for a bargain” as Man City close in on Nypan signing

“He's a big lad, not massive, but he's very well set already physically. You can tell that there's a composure, a confidence, maturity to his game that belies his youthful years. Align that with great technical ability and, of course, an impressive physical profile already, you've got a very exciting talent.

“Obviously the [Martin] Odegaard comparisons will kick in, but he's more of a box-to-box midfielder than Odegaard - equally as highly rated from what I can tell. This guy looks really, really exciting.

“There's been a lot of criticism in the past about City's loan and sell strategy. I do think this is slightly different. I think Hugo Viana has been brought in as City's new football director because he's got an eye for a bargain, given his previous role with Sporting Lisbon.

“I think he has been tasked with finding these youngsters that you could buy for £10m, £15m that will become £70m players in a year or two, after a couple of good loan moves or maybe some squad integration, and not having to spend all that money on players after a couple of years of development.

“We signed Khusanov for around £40m, that was after a year of football basically in France. What's to say now, a €15m outlay on Nypan, one good loan and that's the same amount of experience - actually more given his background in Norwegian football - than Khusanov got.

“I think this is what they're looking at. I think they're thinking we can get these players a lot earlier, get these talented young players - and if one or two of them don't hit, that's fine - but if you've got Echeverri, you've got Juma Bah out on loan, you've got Nypan out on loan, one of these is going to hit.

“I can see the logic in this and I know it sounds quite clinical, but you have to be like that given the spiralling costs of football these days and transfers. If you're Man City and turn up with the money, people are going to ask for £50m because you're Manchester City, and that's the game that they play.

“This guy (Nypan) seems really exciting, a very impressive footballer, but I think mainly [this deal] signals this continuation of a new strategy from Manchester City to get these players and obviously loan them out. These are really highly-talented footballers that I think actually could make an impact in a year or two.”

Could Lyon sign Nypan on loan from Man City?

Despite reported interest from sister club Girona, Man City are not expected to send Nypan on loan to the La Liga club, and McInerney believes that a temporary move to Ligue 1 side Lyon could be on the cards for the teenager this summer.

It has been suggested that Man City have an agreement to loan at least one of their players to Lyon following the £34m signing of French attacker Cherki earlier this month.

“I think they'll want [Nypan to move to] one of the top-five European leagues,” said McInerney. “We've just signed Rayan Cherki from Lyon and reports suggest that the agreement is there that a [Man City] player goes on loan.

Lyon is a “very plausible option” for Nypan

“Now, I think it'll be Claudio Echeverri because it makes sense, a 10 for a 10, but there's a big chance it could be Nypan as well. Obviously [he plays in a] different position, but he suits that profile physically.

“He's more than good enough to play in the French League because it’s a physical league, and I think it's an incredible schooling ground as well for any players who want to step into the Premier League, I would argue the most similar in terms of the physical intensity.

“I think there's a good chance of a club of that kind of stature, like Lyon, where he can play at a really high level. The French league is just so experienced, there is so much talent, so much pace there. [18 months in France] was enough for Khusanov to make that next step to Manchester City.”

Discussing where Nypan could be loaned out to, McInerney added: “Your head immediately goes to a sister club like Girona, but that seems to not really be an option. Maybe a Bundesliga side, I don't know. It could be a slightly lower level, maybe he sticks around in Scandinavia, maybe he goes over to the Netherlands, somewhere like that, maybe even the Portuguese league would be a decent shout as well.

“But I think Lyon to me is a very plausible option right now, given the fact that we know someone is going to go on loan there... I think the best thing for him right now is just to carry on playing football. I think the French league is perfect for him, I really do.”

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Written by
Oliver Thomas