According to David Ornstein, Arsenal are pushing to sign Ajax defender Jurrien Timber for an initial fee of around Ā£30million.
The 22-year-old has been linked with a move to Liverpool in the past couple of months, but the Gunners are currently leading the race according to recent reports.
šØ EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal working on deal to sign Ajax defender Jurrien Timber. #AFC have made an opening offer worth ~Ā£30m. #Ajax want ~Ā£50m but optimism a compromise will be reached. Personal terms with Netherlands intāl thought to be in place @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/mdMeSXp3ff
ā David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 19, 2023
Who is Jurrien Timber?
Jurrien Timber is a 22-year-old versatile defender currently playing for Ajax in the Eredivisie.
Whilst mainly being deployed as a centre-back for the Dutch side, he is also proven to be a solid option at right-back and even stepping into a deep-lying role in midfield.
During his time at the club, Timber has won two Dutch league titles and one Dutch Cup, as well as being named as Netherlandsā Footballer of the Year in 2022.
Timber has made 121 appearances for Ajax in all competitions since graduating from the historic academy setup at the club, scoring six goals and assisting four.
47 of those appearances came in Ajaxās 2022/23 campaign, which surprisingly saw them finish the season trophyless.
As well as becoming a regular at club level for Ajax, Timber has also played 15 games for the Netherlands National Team alongside the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and Cody Gakpo.
How would Timber fit in at Liverpool?
Timber would be a perfect fit at Liverpool, based both on his incredible technical ability and also his tactical versatility, which Jurgen Klopp regularly seems to look for when signing players.
Because of that versatility, Timber can offer a quality alternative in two positions that Liverpool are severely lacking in at the moment.
With the poor performances of Joe Gomez and Joel Matip last season, the 22-year-old could improve the quality of options at the heart of defense alongside Virgil Van Dijk and Ibou Konate.
Furthermore, following the departures of James Milner and Calvin Ramsay, Liverpool are left with just Conor Bradley as a backup to Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back.
Although Bradley is undoubtedly a talented youngster with bags of potential, it is certainly risky to assume heās ready to feature regularly in what could be a busy season for the Reds.
Timber is also capable of playing the Trent role in Kloppās box midfield system, where the full-back drops into the midfield when the side is in possession of the ball to provide an overload in the middle of the field.
Therefore, signing Jurrien Timber would be a perfect signing to fit the needs of Jurgen Kloppās current squad.
Summary:
In my opinion, signing a player with the attributes of Jurrien Timber is just as important as signing a midfielder and Liverpool should definitely push to challenge for his signature.
Manchester United have also been linked with a move for the Dutch international and itās important that the Reds donāt fall even further behind their rivals by waiting too long for other players that may not end up joining.
I believe even a fee of Ā£50 million would be worth spending on Timber when you take into consideration the needs of the current squad.
Every player is expensive for LFC even arsenal have desisted from that era of doing business and are now serious competitorsā¦but look at us,who are supposed to be busy in this transfer window signing just one individual and klopp wants his players or targets signed before preseason