Bruno Fernandes has been a superb servant for Manchester United throughout his time at the club. He recently reached an incredible milestone, making his 250th appearance in that famous Red shirt. Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, and Victor Lindelof are the only players currently at the club with more appearances than the United skipper.
In that time, the Red Devils icon has racked up an impressive number of goals and assists. Fernandes has found the back of the net 83 times and registered a further 73 assists for his teammates.
At just 30 years of age, the Portuguese attacker is at the peak of his powers. However, the Red Devils might well soon think of a succession plan for their talisman further down the line, and they have recently been linked with the dream replacement.
United’s Fernandes replacement
The player in question here is highly-rated Norweigan attacking midfielder Sverre Nypan. The 17-year-old, who plays for Rosenborg BK in his homeland, has been making waves across Europe this summer and is wanted by some of the biggest clubs in football.
According to GiveMeSport, the Red Devils are one of the sides interested in signing him, and ‘have been tracking’ the talented teenager for a number of years. They are thought to have been left ‘hugely impressed’ with Nypan.
However, the 13-time Premier League champions must not mess around if they want to get the Norweigan. GiveMeSport note that Chelsea, AC Milan and RB Leipzig are also interested in the youngster.
With a move for Nypan ‘now seen as almost a certainty in 2025’, United will have to get a move on if they want to sign him. However, he may come with a hefty price tag. Rosenborg’s sports manager Mikael Dorsin suggested a price as high as £84m would be needed to sign the teenage sensation.
Why Nypan would be a good signing
It is fair to say that the 17-year-old has been impressive for Rosenborg this term. The youngster has been a prominent first-team player for the club, playing 31 times, scoring seven goals and grabbing ten assists in that time.
That includes a superb record of seven goals and seven assists in 26 appearances in the Eliteserien, the top-flight in Norway. Although that might not be the highest standard league in Europe, they are more than commendable stats at just 17 years of age.
Interestingly, Nypan has already played against United, during the Red Devils’ preseason in July. It is fair to say he performed well, as the stats from Sofascore demonstrate. The Norway under-21 international created two chances and completed six out of seven dribbles that day.
Football scout Antonio Mango described the midfielder as a “special talent”, and that certainly rings true when looking at his stats from the Elitserien campaign, courtesy of Sofascore.
Notably, the teenager has created six big chances each game. He is a slick dribbler, with a 61% dribble success rate, and works hard off the ball, completing four ball recoveries and five ground duels each game.
Stat
Number
Games
26
G/A
14
Big chances created
7
Key passes per game
1.3
Ball recoveries per game
4
Ground duels won per game
5
Dribble success rate
61%
This could fit well in Ruben Amorim’s system. The new Man United head coach operates with two number 10s, who must be gifted on the ball, which Nypan clearly is. Crucially, the pair are required to press high with lots of intensity, as ESPN correspondent Rob Dawson explained. With the number of ball recoveries he makes and duels he wins, this is clearly something the midfielder can do.
It is expected that Fernandes will be a first-choice in one of those number 10 roles, and it should be a seamless transition between him and the Norway youth international should the time arise. The United skipper has created seven chances this term, averaging 4.4 ball recoveries and winning 4.5 ground duels per game, according to Sofascore.
The duo are certainly very similar statistic-wise. It would be a longer-term plan, to replace the Red Devils captain with the talented Norweigan prodigy.
Learning off Fernandes, one of the greats at Old Trafford in recent years, could be a perfect education, and he might then be ready to step into his shoes once he moves on, however long that may be.
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1 ByJack Salveson HolmesNov 16, 2024