Arsenal told they will have to pay around £50m for Ajax defender Jurrien Timber

• Arsenal will have to pay £50m if they are to sign Ajax defender Jurrien Timber 
• The Gunners had an initial offer of £30m for the Dutchman turned down 
• Mikel Arteta wants a versatile defender who can move into midfield positions 

Arsenal have been told they will have to increase their £30million opening offer for Ajax defender Jurrien Timber.

The 22-year old Holland international is valued at around £50million but is keen on a move to Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta wants a versatile defender who is good on the ball and can start out at right back then fill in in midfield just as Oleksandr Zinchenko does on the opposite flank.

There is confidence that a deal can be reached between the two clubs for Timber. 

Timber was a target for Manchester United last summer while Liverpool have also been credited with interest in recent months.

Arsenal have a budget of around £180m this summer and are already working on deals for West Ham’s Declan Rice and Chelsea forward Kai Havertz.

They are also considering Southampton’s Romeo Lavia as they await offers for Thomas Partey while Granit Xhaka has an offer from Bayer Leverkusen.

Red Bull Leipzig defender Mohamed Simakan is also on their list of options should they fail to reach a compromise for Timber with Ajax.

Ben White was Arsenal’s main right-back last season but Timber would provide them with another option, while Takehiro Tomiyasu’s progress has been restricted by injuries. 

Timber joined Ajax as a youngster in 2014 and went on to make his senior debut in 2020.

In total he has played 121 times for the club, with 47 of those appearances coming last season. 

Timber has helped Ajax to win the Eredivisie title on two occasions but they finished third last season, with Feyenoord being crowned champions.