Man Utd target will ‘probably go to Liverpool’ with Reds set to ‘pay crazy money’ for defender

Ajax defender and Manchester United target Jurrien Timber “probably go to Liverpool” in the summer transfer window, according to Andy van der Meyde.

The Netherlands international has been linked to the Red Devils even since Erik ten Hag moved from Ajax to Old Trafford with rumours persisting that he could leave the Eredivisie side for Man Utd.

Liverpool are also looking for defensive reinforcements this summer and, with rumours he could be available for around £44m, he should be affordable for Jurgen Klopp.

Former Netherlands international Wesley Sneijder is predicting a summer clearout at Ajax where “eight or nine players” could leave the Dutch outfit, while fellow pundit Van der Meyde reckons Timber will be sold to Liverpool.

“They will need the next three years to fix the current problems,” Sneijder told Veronica Offside.

“That will not recover within a year, right? I heard the salaries that are paid this week. That is around fifty million a year that they have to pay. That is no longer coming in. And they are not going to sell players very easily either.

“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.”

“I think they will do that in a different way with the youth,” former Everton winger Van der Meyde added.

“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.”

But, speaking recently, Jaap Stam reckons his former club Manchester United have a better chance of signing Timber in the summer as they have an advantage.

“The big advantage of United for Timber is that he already knows Ten Hag and vice versa,” Stam told Dutch outlet AD.

“The intentions of the trainer are moulded to Timber, but make no mistake: this is the Premier League. There you can’t always be dominant, you have to duel much more and that against strikers like Harry Kane and Erling Haaland.

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“Everyone with Lisandro Martínez was also curious about that. It turns out that he did it. With Timber, I just miss a certain amount of aggression – sometimes even being a little mean – in his game. That is also, for example, in giving the first blow before the real duels come. Martinez does. You can learn that too, but it has to be in you.

“You also have to look at combinations and chance of playing time. United can still use a defender, also because Raphael Varane is prone to injury and Harry Maguire is still disappointing.

“In England, I see United as the most logical option. And what I would like to see more often is Timber as a right back. There are at United, where Dalot without the ball and Wan-Bissaka on the ball don’t quite convince me yet.”

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