What €50m Ajax star Jurrien Timber will bring to Man Utd
Karan Tejwani
- Updated: 31 May 2022 15:25 BST
- 9 min read
Erik ten Hag was named as Manchester United's next manager last month, and he has lined up several targets as he hopes to help the club get back into the Champions League and challenge the Premier League's best.
Several names from his current Ajax team have been linked, and one such figure is centre-half Jurrien Timber.
According to The Times on Tuesday, Man Utd have begun talks with the €50 million-rated defender.
This past season has been a bit of a breakthrough for the 20-year-old defender, having solidified his place in the heart of the Ajax defence alongside Lisandro Martinez.
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He was a central part of the Ajax team that had such a solid first-half to the season, conceding just five league goals between August and February, and was crucial to Ajax’s success.
Recent times have seen the Amsterdammers struggle in defence, but it’s undoubted that Timber is regarded as one of the brightest talents to come out of the famed Ajax academy over the last few years.
Despite that, Ajax persevered and ended up winning the league title, giving Ten Hag the perfect send off, while Timber was named as the club's Talent of the Year, and that was a deserved accolade for his achievements and growth over the course of the season.
A large part of Erik ten Hag – and Ajax’s – profile is to have players comfortable on the ball, and Timber brings just that.
Timber: confident on the ball
Timber is confident in moving the ball forward, both through his passing and driving forward, and that has been evident several times this season, such as in Champions League matches against Borussia Dortmund or in domestic league games – check his goal against Cambuur.
Such was his quality on the ball that Ten Hag once said Timber had the quality to play higher up the pitch in the future, and praised his vocal leadership: "He could even play at left-back or in central midfield,” the coach said in 2019.
"He will not immediately be the leader of the Ajax first team but he dares to speak out immediately and has not been shy in the dressing room. Those are important qualities to get far."
The Champions League group stages, where Ajax won all six of their matches, were the perfect example of Timber’s maturity.
In just his first season of football consistently starting at that level, he showed the composure of a player beyond his years, and those matches showed his best form this season.
Timber’s defensive awareness and ability to sense a threat beforehand is also vital and has proven to be important in resisting pressure on the Ajax defence.
Ever since the departure of Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus in 2019, there has always been a sense of wanting to replace him, and Timber has done just that.
This is just an incredible goal that sums up everything you need to know about Jurrien Timber.
Great, aggressive defender and then calm, cool, and collected on the ball. Beautiful. pic.twitter.com/1ttz7y8ksw— Marc Geschwind (@MarcGeschwind) September 18, 2021
To add to it, he’s an academy-bred player, which makes him even more valuable to Ajax.
Some have even compared him to a legend of yesteryear, such as Frank de Boer, and that has stemmed from the fact that like Frank, Jurrien’s twin brother Quentin also played for Ajax at one time.
Nonetheless, Timber is on the right path to matching the success of former Ajax heroes.
There are, however, some downsides to Timber’s style.
He does tend to be a reckless centre-half, often going into challenges too eagerly which gives away needless free-kicks or earn him unnecessary bookings.
Additionally, his lack of physical stature may be a worry to some in England – Timber stands at 1.79m tall.
Still, at the age of 20, Timber has an impressive CV and background in the game, and there is definitely room for improvement.
It says plenty that in a team of top talents like Ryan Gravenberch, Antony, Edson Alvarez and others, Timber is one of the most highly-touted talents, and a move to any club would mean the team acquires a talent there to be polished for the long-term future.
Timber has been linked to several clubs across Europe, including Bayern Munich and Barcelona, but for his career, it makes sense to move to Manchester United, due to the obvious link with manager Ten Hag.
It was Ten Hag who gave him his debut with Ajax and knows him best - allowing that continuity gives a young player with immense potential to grow in the ideal trajectory, and he would be an important part of the Red Devils' side should he move there.
