There’s nothing like being made painfully aware of your own mortality. Robin van Persie’s stunning volley against Aston Villa may feel like only yesterday for many a Manchester United fan.
But for the highly-rated young midfielder who could yet be on his way to Old Trafford, it was the moment which really solidified his love for the Red Devils.
The latest bright young thing of Scandinavian football was only seven years old when Van Persie raced onto Wayne Rooney’s pinpoint pass and lashed a stunning volley into the Villa net. Now, doesn’t that make you feel old.
A goal which sealed Manchester United’s 20th – and most recent – top-flight title.
Over a decade on, Sverre Nypan may soon be on his way to following in Van Persie’s footsteps. At least, that is the plan.
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Manchester United move is Sverre Nypan’s ‘dream’
According to Fussball News reporter Christopher Michel – the man who first claimed that Matthijs de Ligt was willing to take a pay rise to move to Old Trafford – United ‘put the feelers’ out for the Rosenborg wonderkid in April.
This is not the first time Nypan has been lined with a move to his boyhood club. And nor will it be the last.
Speaking to the Norwegian branch of the Manchester United supporters club, Nypan admits that it is his ‘dream’ to pull on that iconic red shirt as a professional rather than merely a supporter watching Van Persie and co from the comfort of his sofa.
“My first memory is when Van Persie scored against Aston Villa in 2013,” Nypan recalls. “Me and a mate were ecstatic, and went straight to the park to reconstruct the goal.”
Nypan, like his fellow Scandinavian Rasmus Hojlund, names another legendary United attacker as his idol.
“I’m a Ronaldo fan. That’s his mentality; Every time the team needs a score, he scores,” adds the Norwa youth star. “If anyone thinks something about him, he proves the opposite.
“He’s always like that.”
Rosenborg starlet draws Ander Herrera comparisons
Nypan is not, however, a goalscorer in the Van Persie or Ronaldo mould.
The Guardian draw comparisons with Barcelona’s one-time United target Frenkie de Jong and his national team’s captain, Martin Odegaard. Such claims are easy to understand. Nypan is uber comfortable on the ball for one so young and already has a knack for influencing games on the first-team level.
In 12 league appearances for Rosenborg during the 2024 Eliteserien campaign, he has averaged a goal or an assist every other game.
Nypan, however, feels a more fitting comparison may be Ander Herrera. He sees himself less of a specialist playmaker like Arsenal talisman Odegaard, and more of a jack-of-all-trades all-rounder.
“Ander Herrera maybe,” Nypan adds when asked to name the former Man United player he most closely resembles. “He was a good and solid player who did the job, ran a lot, covered space and was good with the ball.”
Arguably Man United have not had a midfielder quite as complete as Herrera since the £30 million signing from Athletic Bilbao left to join Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer back in 2019.
Nypan, at only half of Herrera’s age, is only just beginning his own footballing journey.
One that, like Van Persie, Ronaldo and the former Spain international, could take him through Manchester United and to the top of the European game.
Man United face Nypan’s Rosenborg on July 15th for their first pre-season friendly.
Perhaps Nypan will do like a teenage Ronaldo did back in 2003 for Sporting Lisbon and seize the chance to impress his the Red Devils in the flesh.