Earlier this week, James Benge reported for CBS Sports that Arsenal were hopeful of a breakthrough in negotiations for Jurrien Timber in the coming days, with the Gunners locked in talks over his signature.
Benge later added (via Football.London) that Timber is now close to joining Arsenal in a £43.5m deal, which is expected to be swiftly concluded in the next few days.
Timber had also drawn interest from the likes of Bayern Munich, but the Bundesliga side faded from the race when it became clear the defender wanted to join Arsenal.
Fabrizio Romano broke the news on Monday that Arsenal had submitted a second official proposal to Ajax for the signing of Jurrien Timber, hoping to complete a deal this week.
Romano claimed the new bid was around €45-48m (£38.7-41.3m), with talks advancing between the clubs.
From Timber’s perspective, he’s clear that he loves the Arsenal project and wants to join, with a contract ready and agreed lasting until 2028.
Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail reports that Timber will earn a minimum of £90,000 a week at Arsenal, with achievable add-ons which could push his wage closer to £120,000.
Over in the Netherlands, De Telegraaf report that Timber has already reached a verbal agreement with Arsenal on that contract to 2028.
Mikel Arteta and Edu reportedly believe Timber is capable of operating as an inverted right-back, playing in midfield when Arsenal are in possession.
Oleksandr Zinchenko played that role on the other side last season, but Arsenal finished the campaign with Thomas Partey playing the inverted right-back role in Zinchenko’s injury absence.
Timber would be a better fit for the position, with a lot more experience at right-back defensively and plenty of quality on the ball.
The 22-year-old made 47 appearances for Ajax in the 2022/23 campaign, and he’s also a Dutch international, playing 15 times for the national team.
