Arsenal's pursuit of Declan Rice has seen many forget that Jurrien Timber is also closing in on a summer move to the Gunners. The Ajax defender has been identified by Mikel Arteta and Timber himself has since made it clear he only wants to sign for Arsenal despite interest from Bayern Munich.
Personal terms have already been agreed and negotiations over a final fee are being completed this weekend with both parties keen to get the deal over the line, as per the Evening Standard. When talks first began after the Gunners launched an initial £30million bid, Ajax were demanding close to £50million, but a compromise now appears to have been met.
According to De Telegraaf, Arsenal are said to have agreed an initial €42million (£36million) transfer fee to sign Timber and with add-ons the deal could rise to €47million (£40million), which is directly between Ajax's initial asking price and the first official offer from Emirates Stadium.
The same outlet have also reported that the talented youngster has agreed to a deal that will earn him €8million (£6.9million), which is double his current salary.
The 22-year-old will be an excellent addition to the Arsenal back line with his tactical flexibility a key trait exactly what Arteta looks for in a signing. Oleksandr Zinchenko was brought on 12 months ago to play as an inverted full-back in Arteta's system and Timber is expected to do the same.
Despite playing as a right-back for the majority of the 2022/23 season, Timber often drifted inside to give the Dutch giants an extra option in midfield and his composure on the ball is an excellent trait Arteta will love.
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With negotiations set to ramp up in search of an agreement being reached, Timber appears to be remaining very composed as he posted a cryptic message to Twitter. In a three-word post from Saturday morning, the Netherlands international put out a tweet that read: "Good NBA morning."
The immediate assumption is that Timber is referring to the NBA but there are no games taking place and none have since the Denver Nuggets' NBA finals game five victory against the Miami Heat on June 7. Therefore, the exact meaning behind his social media message is unknown.
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