Jurrien Timber: The modern centre-back on Manchester United’s shortlist – scout report

Born in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on the 17th of June 2001, Jurrien David Norman Timber is a full Dutch international who plays for Ajax Amsterdam. Timber began his footballing career in Utrecht before being snapped up by Feyenoord in 2008, ultimately moving to Ajax in 2014. After spending six years in the youth setup, Erik Ten Hag gave Timber his senior debut against Heerenveen as a second-half substitute in the final game of the 2019/20 Eredivisie campaign before the season was suspended due to covid-19.

The following season, Timber established himself as a starter in the first team, scoring his first goal for the club in a 4:0 win. In total Timber has gone on to make 74 appearances for the club, being directly involved in six goals, and has won six caps for the Dutch national team. Hes also succeeded Ryan Gravenberch in winning the Marco van Basten award or the Ajax’s talent of the year for 2022. But where does he play? In this tactical analysis, were going to take a look at who is Jurrien Timber and why he might be Ten Hags number one transfer target for Manchester United. In this scout report, we will also take a look at Timbers strengths and weaknesses.

Position

Timber is a defender that mainly features at centre-back although at times hes been deployed as a fullback and even in defensive midfield. Hes played his best football for Ajax as a centre-back but due to Ten Hags fluid system, Timber has a lot of experience playing in a lot of different positions across the back line when his side has possession. Meanwhile, without the ball, the aggressive nature of Ten Hag’s press means itll happily follow opposition players into positions that centre-backs tend to feel uncomfortable such as into central midfield or into the wide areas near the touchline.

The Future

Timber is happy in these situations thanks to his impressive skill set and is a highly mobile player. Timber has good recovery pace and is fairly strong for his size. Hes also a good 1v1 defender that reads the game well offensively. Timber is a very capable, composed passer that has the technical skills to carry the ball.

One of the big things that stands out with Timber is that he is the future of football. As football moves forward with strikers coming off the lines and wingers making those attacking runs, centre-halves need to be capable of tracking really fast footballers. But, also in terms of the high press that ability to step out into midfield and have the agility to make that first contact is going to be very very important. Small, fast centre-backs are gonna become the norm in modern football.

Ball Playing Defender

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