Liverpool are being tipped to steal on march on Manchester United - by beating Erik ten Hag’s side to the signing of Dutch international Jurrien Timber in the summer transfer window.
Timber, 21, is widely expected to leave Ajax this summer as he attracts interest from Premier League clubs. The defender is enjoying another impressive season despite the Dutch giants' failure to defend the Eredivisie title which went to Feyenoord.
United are believed to be among the frontrunners for his signature amid plans to sign a new centre-back with uncertainty over the future of Harry Maguire, while Eric Bailly is set to leave having been on loan at Marseille.
The club are open to selling Maguire with the 30-year-old having dropped down the pecking order despite remaining an England regular. Ten Hag has preferred to start left-back Luke Shaw over Maguire at centre-back recently amid injuries to Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane.
Timber, who has 15 caps for the Netherlands, turned down the chance to follow ex-Ajax boss Ten Hag to Old Trafford when his compatriot was appointed Red Devils manager last year. United had not qualified for the Champions League and Timber was prepared to commit to another season at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
He is likely to be a target once again for United, who are also tracking Bayer Leverkusen’s Dutch under-21 international Jeremie Frimpong. But former Netherlands stars Wesley Sneijder and Andy van der Meyde believe Timber is destined to join Liverpool instead.
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They believe Ajax need to sell players after a disappointing campaign, with Mexico midfielder Edson Alvarez and Ghana midfielder Mohammed Kudus also primed to leave.
Sneijder said (via Sport Witness) : “There may be eight or nine players that Ajax will have to say goodbye to. But you also have to fill that up with quality, if you want to re-join very quickly.”
Van der Meyde added: “I think they will do that in a different way with the youth. Alvarez will leave for forty million, Kudus for thirty million and Timber will probably go to Liverpool. They also pay crazy money. Then you can start building again.”
Liverpool, like United, are preparing for a rebuild this summer with several members of Jurgen Klopp’s first-team squad set to leave the club. Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will all bid farewell to Anfield.
As well as bringing in reinforcements in midfield, it is believed that Klopp also wants to sign a new central defender to compete with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate with concerns over the inconsistent form of Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.
That could lead Liverpool to Timber, who has been linked with the Reds and already confirmed that a move away from Ajax is forthcoming. “A transfer is getting closer and closer, so to speak,” he told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf in April.
“There is a lot of concrete interest and I have made agreements with Ajax. Last year Ajax asked me to stay for 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 review the situation.
“At the Dutch national team, I often talk to boys who play football abroad. want to take that step someday.”
Ajax are thought to be keen to hold onto Timber if possible but have placed a price tag of around £44million on the defender.
