Jurrien Timber was absent from Ajax’s first outdoor training session of the summer under new coach Maurice Steijn as his proposed £40m transfer to Arsenal nears completion.
The Gunners reached an agreement with the Dutch giants last week over an initial £36m (€42m) fee topped up by a further £4m (€5m) in add-ons.
Timber had been working individually at Ajax’s training facility when he returned from holiday towards the end of last month. But Dutch outlet AD has reported that he wasn’t present on Saturday when Steijn hosted his first group session of pre-season on the outdoor pitches.
The same report further adds that Steijn and Ajax don’t expect to see Timber back, given that his transfer to Arsenal is so close.
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90min reported last week that personal terms between Timber and the Gunners are already agreed, with formal completion considered to be imminent – Arsenal are also in the final stages of wrapping up a British record £105m transfer for Declan Rice, having already announced Kai Havertz.
The versatile Timber, who is expected to become the new starting right-back and mirror the inverted style of Oleksandr Zincehnko on the opposite flank, will boost an Arsenal defence that struggled in the final two months of last season’s Premier League title race and contributed to their slip-up in the title race.
Leaking 11 goals in the space of four win-less gams in April blew the door wide open for Manchester City, who were responsible for scoring four of those, to surge through.
Arsenal will also need better strength in depth when it comes to the Champions League, competing in European football’s elite tournament for the first time in six years.
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On this edition of The Chronicles of a Gooner, part of the 90min podcast network, Harry Symeou discuss the deals involving Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz & how adding those players impacts the expectation levels around the Gunners going into next season.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Jurrien Timber absent from Ajax training as Arsenal transfer nears.