The father of Rosenborg’s prodigious midfielder Sverre Nypan has confirmed that his son will stay in Norway’s top flight despite extensive transfer interest from Arsenal.

The Gunners were credited with monitoring the 18-year-old record-breaker earlier this month. Manchester City were also tipped to be chasing after Nypan, although it later emerged that the Premier League side’s sister club in Spain, Girona, were leading negotiations.

Aston Villa continued a hectic transfer window by putting their hat into a crowded ring for the versatile midfielder, but now Nypan has decided to remain with Rosenborg. Shortly after a report emerged from The Athletic, the teenager’s father Arne explained the decision to local Norwegian outlet Adresseavisen.

“The most important thing for us is to get confirmation that there is enormous interest from big and great clubs,” Nypan Sr outlined. “They have a good plan for how they want to develop him. Given that, Sverre has always thought long-term. We now consider that he is at RBK until the summer an advantage.”

The youngest player to ever appear for the Norwegian giants has been on the radar of Europe’s elite since he made his top-flight debut at 15 – just 204 days short of Martin Odegaard’s national record. Nypan is more adept at playing in deeper roles than his compatriot and has been fielded in a variety of midfield positions across his 60 senior appearances for Rosenborg.

After spurning advances from the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain at the start of his professional career, Nypan was thought to have been open to a move outside Norway in January, with Rosenborg asking for no more than £11m.

Now the youngster is set to remain in the Eliteserien until the summer – which marks the end of the 2024/25 campaign across Europe’s major leagues but is only the halfway point of Norway’s top flight.

However, negotiations could still continue, as Nypan’s father added: “We should not rule out that we will finally choose a club before the summer window formally opens.”

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