It has not looked good for Aston Villa in their pursuit of Sverre Nypan for a while. At one point, an agreement appeared solidly in place. The lack of a signature to get a deal over the finish line, however, appears to now reveal a lack of overall willingness to join Unai Emery's side.
The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell reported on X that Manchester City are now in the driver's seat to acquire the services of Nypan. In Tanswell's post, PSR and the lack of financial wiggle room are being named as the reasons as to why Villa were unable to get a contract agreed to.
This reasoning, however, does not hold up to scrutiny. Despite claims constantly suggesting otherwise, the situation is not nearly as dire as many would have people believe regarding PSR. An exact price for the Norwegian is not known, but it is safe to say the Villa would be able to fork over enough money in order to make something happen. Nypan is, after all, a player they have long wanted to bring to the club.
Instead, the hang-up most likely is due to an earlier discomfort of Nypan and his family not wanting to commit to Villa earlier once negotiations had been agreed to. For whatever reason, they have a desire to sit and wait on a final decision.
Explaining reason why transfer to Aston Villa likely fell through
Now with Man City entering the race, it is quite possible that they have pushed the number up past a point, beyond Villa's evaluation, either in terms of the transfer fee or wages themselves. The current market valuation of €12m is certainly not enough to thwart any attempts by Villa to bring the 18-year-old to B6.
If City came in, however, and made an offer that exceeded that number by a considerable amount, then yes, Villa is not in a position to engage in that business any longer. That wouldn't show a PSR issue. Instead it would be a case of another club overvaluing and spending too much on a player relative to the current market value. It is certainly not a cause for alarm. This happens often.
In either event, Nypan has a choice to make. He can join Pep Guardiola and immediately be an outcast the moment he does not perform well. Or, he can come to Villa and be a part of a system that truly brings out the best in players and helps them develop.