Sverre Nypan decision hints at Man City plan to solve growing first-team problem

Manchester City youngster Sverre Nypan has joined Middlesbrough on loan for the season and the move hints at a long-term plan for the teenager.

Nico O'Reilly and Rico Lewis will be classed as homegrown players at Manchester City, but James McAtee has now left

A theme of Manchester City's summer has been their diminishing reserves of homegrown players and their attempts to flesh out their numbers before submitting squads to the Premier League and UEFA.

Although the rules differ slightly between the two governing bodies, City essentially need eight homegrown players to fill a 25-man squad, but that is already looking like a difficult task come the first week of September.

This means there are only 17 places available for non-homegrown players, and City already have far too many players for that cluster. This is why Pep Guardiola continues to complain about the size of the squad and Hugo Viana continues to try to shift players.

Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake were both unused substitutes at Wolves at the weekend, and City are well-stocked in the centre of defence. However, Ake counts as homegrown, having been in Chelsea's academy, so Akanji was always the more likely to depart.

This summer, City have already sold Kyle Walker and James McAtee, while Jack Grealish has joined Everton on loan. Scott Carson's departure was offset by the signing of Marcus Bettinelli, and James Trafford has also returned to add to the numbers.

As things stand, Trafford, Bettinelli, John Stones, Ake, Rico Lewis, Nico O'Reilly, Phil Foden and Oscar Bobb count as homegrown. But Lewis and O'Reilly are classed as Under-21 players, so they won't be included in the 25-man squad lists. There is speculation over Lewis' future amid interest from Nottingham Forest, and Stones (31) and Ake (30) have points to prove this season after fitness issues.

It's clear City need to boost their number of homegrown players, which is partly why it has looked at players such as Tino Livramento and Morgan Gibbs-White this summer.

Turning to the academy is another option, although as the cases of Lewis and O'Reilly show, players only count once they are past a certain age. Players also need to be good enough to step into the first team.

But signings can also qualify if they join the club at 18 and spend three years in English football, which makes the decision to send Sverre Nypan on loan to Middlesbrough an interesting one. By keeping him with an FA-registered club, City are keeping the possibility open of him qualifying as a homegrown player in three years.

Had Nypan moved abroad on loan, with Girona among the clubs interested, that possibility would have been lost. But moving to the Championship keeps it on the table.

If the 18-year-old midfielder, signed from Rosenborg for £12.5million this summer, impresses at the Riverside Stadium, then it could make another loan in the Championship or Premier League next season a no-brainer, with a view to Nypan hitting the age of 21 and filling a homegrown slot within City's squad.

To do that, he will have to prove he has the quality first. Developing within English football is also clearly beneficial in that regard, but if it all works out, the Norwegian could yet help to fix a potential problem within the City squad.

---

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.

And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.