ARSENAL SIGN DEFENDER JURRIEN TIMBER FOR €45 MILLION
Arsenal have signed right back Jurrien Timber from Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam, the club announced.
The deal is now complete, just a few weeks after Arsenal’s £30 million opening bid for Timber was rejected by Ajax Amsterdam last month. The transfer fee for the Dutchman is a massive €45 million (£38.6 million) total including add-ons, the second most expensive signing fee for a defender in Arsenal’s history, after the club’s £50 million signing of center back Ben White from Brighton and Hove Albion in 2021.
The deal includes a €40 million fixed fee, with the remaining €5 million in total add-ons. Timber signed a five-year contract which keeps him at the club until June 30th, 2028. The young defender, who can play both fullback and center back, will now travel with the Gunners to their preseason tour in the United States this weekend.
“We are very happy to bring Jurrien to Arsenal,” said Arsenal’s Sporting Director Edu Gaspar. “He is a player that we have admired for a long time, so it’s a credit to everyone in our team that made this happen.”
“Jurrien is a young talented international player, who fits our vision of competing with a young strong squad. I know Jurrien cannot wait to get started and we’re really hoping that he will be a great success here for many years.”
According to multiple reports, the Utrecht-born player is a believer in the project at the club and was excited about signing at Arsenal from the beginning. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and the hierarchy at the club convinced Timber about the opportunity with the former Arsenal captain playing a big role in bringing the young Dutchman to the club.
“We’re really excited that Jurrien has joined us,” said Arteta. “He is a versatile young defender, who will fit into our system and provide our squad with so much added quality. He is a young player, but [he] has already achieved so much.”
“He has already experienced what it’s like to go to a major international tournament on more than one occasion, as well as the trophies he won with Ajax. We look forward to welcoming and integrating Jurrien into the squad.”
Timber grew up as an Arsenal fan and was greatly inspired by his three older brothers in following the North London giants. “Growing up in Utrecht, we all dreamed of being football players,” said Timber. “When I watched games with my brothers when I was a kid, of course I wanted to play for one of the biggest and best teams in the world.”
“But I really had a sense that it had to be a team that plays in the right way, a club that has the right values, that develops young talent and has an unbreakable bond with its supporters. Now that I’m here, I feel at home already. Something special is happening here and I want to be part of it.”
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The 22-year-old made an impressive 121 senior appearances at Ajax, helping de Godenzonen win two consecutive Eredivisie titles in 2020/21 and 2021/22, and the Dutch Cup in 2020/21. Timber joined Ajax’s academy in 2014 alongside his twin brother, Quinten Timber, who currently plays for Dutch club, Feyenoord Rotterdam, and quickly rose up the ranks.
Jurrien signed his first professional contract for Ajax in 2018 and went on to make his senior debut for the club under current Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag in March of 2020. The young player of both Aruban and Curacaoan descent, has already featured for the Netherlands in two major international tournaments, the UEFA Euro 2020 and the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar last year, having made his Dutch international debut at just 19-years old.
One of the most sought-after young fullbacks in Europe, Timber is a complete defender with the ability to lock down opponents, quickly affect transition and have an immediate impact on the attack. The Dutchman is renowned for his composure, technical ability on the ball, vision and passing accuracy.
Timber is an impact player in the final third of the opponents half putting up an impressive 6 goals and 4 assists during his time at Ajax. According to Squawka, of all players that primarily played center back in Europe last season, none played more passes into the final third than Jurrien Timber, who led the pack with a total of 399 passes. The Dutch international also led all players in the Eredivisie last season in passing accuracy and progressive carries.
Timber is not only fast and agile but also provides security for Arsenal’s backline on set pieces and threats from counter attack. The young fullback has a great health track record and could be a backup at both right back and center back for whenever a teammate is injured. Arsenal suffered greatly last season with defensive injuries to William Saliba, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu, a problem that Timber should help remedy moving forward.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Carlo Bruil Fotografie. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.