Inside Jurrien Timber’s farewell party as Arsenal prepare to announce new transfer

Arsenal look set to complete the signing of highly-rated Netherlands centre-back Jurrien Timber from Ajax in the days ahead. And the 22-year-old has been given the ultimate send-off by his family after they held a farewell party for him.

Timber was tipped to link-up with his former Ajax mentor Erik ten Hag last summer after the 53-year-old took charge of Manchester United. But the defender instead remained in Holland for another season.

Timber progressed through the Ajax academy after moving to the club from Feyenoord as a teenager. He has gone on to feature 121 times for his current employers and has won the Eredivisie title on two occasions. The player has also impressed on the international stage after winning 15 caps for the Netherlands and was part of his country’s squads at Euro 2020 and last year’s World Cup.

“No, I’m not in talks with Ajax right now. I spoke briefly to [Ajax technical director Sven] Mislintat in the beginning. My agent Chris had a good talk with him a few times, but it’s not like we’re talking about anything right now. I don’t dare say that I’ll stay with Ajax anyway, no.”