Arsenal would be pulling off a coup if they win the race to sign Jurrien Timber.
All of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Barcelona, Manchester City and Real Madrid, have courted the Ajax defender over the past two years.
Last summer, it was Manchester United who fought hardest to sign Timber when Erik ten Haag was keen to be reunited with a player he worked with at Ajax.
Timber was reluctant to make a move so soon before the World Cup and ending up staying at Ajax and signing a new contract.
But the 22-year-old Dutchman could be on the move this summer and Arsenal have kickstarted the bidding by having a £30million offer rejected. Ajax want closer to £50m.
It would be a lot of money, but in Timber they would be adding a significant weapon to their squad.
He can play at centre-back or right-back, while at the World Cup in Qatar he operated in a back-three for the Netherlands as they reached the quarter-finals.
Timber fits the profile of a player Edu and Mikel Arteta have targeted in recent seasons. He is young, quick, strong and good in possession, while he was tipped as a future Ajax captain by Ten Hag.
His versatility is also a huge asset. Arsenal stumbled in the title race in the closing weeks of last season and one reason for their struggles was the lack of depth.
Another was due to a lack of versatile options in the squad and their prospective signings this summer point to a push to address that issue.
Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Timber are all players who can play multiple roles, providing Arteta with greater tactical flexibility.
Timber would allow Arsenal to play with an inverted right-back, something they tried toward the back end of last season.
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Oleksandr Zinchenko usually fulfills such a role from the opposite flank but, in his absence, Kieran Tierney struggled to replicate what he offers.
That prompted Arteta to essentially flip the system for the final three games of the season when Zinchenko was out injured with a calf injury, with Thomas Partey playing as an inverted right-back.
It is a role that Timber could step into, and the fact he can also play as a centre-back only underlines why he is such an attractive signing for Arsenal.
