Reported Liverpool transfer target Jurrien Timber has admitted that he’s likely to leave Ajax this summer.
Timber has been rumoured to be one of the players Liverpool have targeted to add to their defence ahead of next season. And the 21-year-old has now suggested that his club have already agreed to let him go.
“A transfer is getting closer and closer, so to speak,” Timber explained to De Telegraaf. “There is a lot of concrete interest and I have made agreements with Ajax. Last year Ajax asked me to stay at least one more season and to extend my contract. As a club boy I did that with love and after the season we will look at the situation again.”
Timber also claimed that he’s been speaking with his Dutch national teams about a potential move this year. With Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo regulars among that particular group, this could be of interest to Liverpool.
“With the Dutch national team, I talk a lot with guys who play football abroad. I want to make that step one day,” said the centre-back. “But when that is, you eventually hear and happen in consultation with Ajax. I’m still good here anyway and I’m not in a hurry. The focus now is on the cup final and the remainder of the competition.”
Timber confirms he’s ready to leave Ajax
As someone who has recently made the step from playing in the Netherlands to playing in England, it’s feasible that Timber would wish to speak to Gakpo on this.
The Liverpool forward is a couple of years older than Timber, but is still of a similar age. For the Ajax man it would surely be useful to get Gakpo’s perspective as he ponders a move of his own.
And then there’s Van Dijk. As the leader of the national team and someone who plays in the same position, who better for Timber to pick the brain of than the man who’s made playing consistently at the very highest level look so easy.
None of this means Timber will end up at Liverpool, of course. The Dutchman has been more heavily linked to others, most notably Manchester United. But the links to the Reds are there, and as a centre-back who can also play on the right, you can see the sense in Jurgen Klopp moving for him.
Obviously open to leaving, it shouldn’t be difficult to convince Timber to join his international teammates at Anfield. With Ryan Gravenberch also potentially joining them this summer, Liverpool could have quite the Dutch contingent come next season.
To get Timber out of Ajax will reportedly cost around £36m [The Mirror]. Not a bad price for a player who’s a regular for club and country at just twenty-one. Van Dijk was already key in Gakpo signing this winter. Maybe the big man could yet play his part in another addition for the Reds.