Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Jurrien Timber from Ajax to make it second signing after former Chelsea star Kai Havertz.
The Netherlands international rumoured to join Manchester Untied and his former manager Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford last summer but instead agreed to stay at Ajax for another year.
The 22-year-old is equally adept at playing right-back or at centre-half and Mikel Arteta is understood to have identified Timber as a player he can deploy as an inverted full-back.
Oleksandr Zinchenko played that role last season, but Arsenal were left without an alternative when the Ukraine international,
was injured and finished the campaign with Thomas Partey forced to play as makeshift right-back.
Arsenal saw one offer for Timber rejected earlier this month but made a breakthrough when they agreed a fee of around £40million plus add-ons.
Timber also attracted interest from Bayern Munich but had his heart set on a move to north London.
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Edu reactions:
‘We are very happy to bring Jurrien to Arsenal.
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.”
Manager Mikel Arteta added:
‘We’re really excited that Jurrien has joined us.
He is a versatile young defender, who will fit into our system and provide our squad with so much added quality.
‘Jurrien is a young player, but has already achieved so much.
He has experienced what it’s like to go to a major international tournament on more than one occasion, as well as the trophies he has won with Ajax.
We look forward to welcoming and integrating Jurrien into the squad.’
