Middlesbrough midfielder Sverre Nypan has insisted that he doesn’t consider his time at Middlesbrough as a failure. The 19-year-old joined Manchester City in a €15m deal in July 2025 from Rosenborg, where he was a product of their youth system. Middlesbrough experience The 19-year-old joined Middlesbrough on loan in August last year. Nypan went on to make 21 appearances for the Championship side in total but only managed three starts in those games totalling 622 minutes. That saw the loan deal cancelled at the end of the January transfer window. He isn’t putting the blame on the club, though. He believes that there are plenty of factors that caused issues. “There were several reasons for that. For starters, I could have handled things better myself,” he said. “Everything was new to me, and I didn’t really know what I was walking into. If I could do it all over again now, it would be completely different. “On top of that, I was unlucky that the manager who brought me there (Rob Edwards) left after just three months (for Wolves). That didn’t make things any easier. Things didn’t go as we’d hoped, so it was better to return to City.” Middlesbrough not a failure He is also refusing to join in with anyone saying that his time at Middlesbrough was a complete failure. However, he does admit that it didn’t work out as he had hoped. “Well, people made a bigger deal out of it than necessary,” he added. “Personally, I don’t view my time at Middlesbrough as a total failure. I trained with a high-quality squad and got a fair amount of playing time in the Championship. Of course, I’d hoped for more, but learning to deal with disappointment is part of a footballer’s life. It made me more mature.” Focus on the positives On the flip side, the Manchester City youngster is refusing to focus on the negatives. He instead believes that there are lessons to be learned from the Middlesbrough experience. “That’s part of the game. It’s great when things are going well,” he concluded. “When things aren’t going quite as well, the criticism follows quickly. I’m not going to complain about that, because ultimately, that’s exactly what I’m chasing. “Good performances inevitably lead to high expectations. So, I hope people will expect even more from me in the future. Apart from that, I focus on myself. No career follows a straight line. I’m here to take the next step.”