How Louis van Gaal blocked Jurrien Timber’s Man Utd transfer
Robin Bairner
- 18 Jun 2022 16:38 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United might have hoped that former manager Louis van Gaal might have proven an ally in their bid to sign Jurrien Timber from Ajax – but the reserve seems to be true.
Earlier in the summer, Timber appeared to be the likeliest Ajax player to follow the path of manager Erik ten Hag to the Old Trafford side. A transfer, though, has hit an impasse in recent times, with the trail apparently having gone cold.
While Ajax have been growing increasingly confident of retaining the player, this has partly come thanks to Van Gaal.
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Van Gaal’s message to Timber
On 8 June, the Netherlands boss spoke out about a potential deal, dropping a strong hint towards the young defender that he would miss out on the World Cup if he made the switch and did not settle immediately.
“I think a player of his quality can play in the Premier League. That is not a problem. If he has to make this big step now, that's the question,” he said.
“It is not so wise I think to move to United. He has to play.”
Van Gaal has previously been outspoken about his former side, branding them a “commercial club” rather than a “football club”.
He also stated that players who are not featuring regularly will not be considered for World Cup 2022, which kicks off in around five months in Qatar.
His words have apparently resonated with Timber. While Ryan Gravenberch has departed the Amsterdam side for Bayern Munich, talks over his move to Manchester United have apparently broken down.
It is a decision that is said to have stunned Ten Hag, who felt that the full-back would follow him to the Red Devils.
Timber’s snub is just the latest in a string of transfer setbacks that Ten Hag has suffered since taking charge at Man Utd, who appear to have made little concrete progress with any of their major summer targets.
