Glenn Fernandes
Erik ten Hag eager to take Ajax centre-back Jurrien Timber with him to Manchester United
According to De Telegraaf’s Mike Verweij via Kick Off podcast (h/t Metro), Erik ten Hag would like to purchase centre-back Jurrien Timber, should he take over at Manchester United.
Whilst there is no confirmation yet, there are strong chances that we could see ten Hag at Old Trafford next season. The former FC Utrecht manager has shown great pedigree in working with a modest budget and developing upcoming talent into potential world-beaters. The 52-year-old manager has won the Eredivisie league title and the Dutch FA Cup two times each.
He also has a Dutch Super Cup to his name. It is believed that Timber could also make his way to Old Trafford behind ten Hag should such a situation take place. The 20-year-old has already bagged four goals and notched one assist in 68 matches across all competitions for the club from the Netherlands.
A new era under Erik ten Hag
The club has suffered from bouts of inconsistency, to say the least in the last few years. The Mancunian club have largely struggled in the post-Alex Fergusson era despite spending huge sums on trying to lure some of the best players in the world.
The young Dutch defender could be one of the first players to make way at Manchester should ten Hag lead the way. At 20, Timber still has some of his best footballing years ahead of him and could become the spine of the defence in the future if developed properly.
He has proven himself quite a capable successor to Matthijs de Ligt who came into the limelight under the tutelage of the Dutch manager. The youngster was also previously linked with the likes of Manchester City.
It would thus be interesting to see how the situation develops. We have learnt in the past that simply forking out huge sums of cash does not always solve the problem at hand. The vision of the coach has to be backed by the board.
Hence Erik ten Hag has a good chance of prospering at Man Utd only if the hierarchy shares the same vision as the 52-year-old manager. Should we make a move for Jurrien Timber post the arrival of the Dutch manager, it would be a great sign that we are willing to invest in young players with one eye on the future.
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As of now, this move is dependent on too many possibilities without any concrete backing. Even though it seems like ten Hag is closing in on the managerial position at Old Trafford, the club could be looking at a more immediate solution to help patch up some of the gaps in their current first-team squad.
