How much are Ajax demanding for Man Utd transfer targets Antony and Timber?

Robin Bairner

23 Jun 2022 12:52 CDT
3 min read

Ajax are intent on fighting off Manchester United’s interest in winger Antony and defender Jurrien Timber.

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The Amsterdam club are refusing to buckle under interest from the Old Trafford club, where former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag has been appointed as manager this summer.

The Eredivisie champions find themselves well placed financially this summer, having already completed the high-profile sale of Ryan Gravenberch to Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, striker Sebastien Haller is close to moving to Borussia Dortmund for a sizeable fee.

While reports suggest that Antony is intently pushing to leave for Man Utd, there is greater doubt over Timber’s future. The defender has reportedly been put off a move by Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal, who has threatened that he might not go to the World Cup if he fails to hit the ground running with the Red Devils.

With little pressure on the club to make a sale, it means that they can charge a premium fee for their existing players.

De Telegraaf reports that Ajax will seek to take advantage of their strong position by asking Man Utd for €70 million for Antony while Timber’s asking price is said to be “at least” €50m. Similarly, Ajax will ask for €50m for Lisandro Martinez, who has more cautiously been linked with the Old Trafford side but also Premier League rivals Arsenal.

What are the Ajax trio worth?

FootballTransfers’ valuations of the players underlines the mark-up that Ajax are trying to extract from these deals.

Antony, for example, is valued at €33m by our estimates, which are generated using hundreds of in-game data points as well as external factors such as contract length and international experience. This is below the figure of Gravenberch, who moved to Bayern for a fraction of the price Ajax are asking for the Brazilian.

The valuation of the two defensive players, meanwhile, is much closer to FootballTransfers’ estimates. Timber is worth €38m according to our algorithm while Lisandro Martinez is valued at €35m.

Nevertheless, if Manchester United are to capture any of these stars, it will be for a transfer fee that is over the odds.