REPORT: ROMA TO RIVAL MAN UTD & TOTTENHAM FOR £36M TARGET IN JANUARY

AS Roma are reportedly interested in signing Ajax defender Jurrien Timber, with the Netherlands international also wanted by the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham. According to Calcio Mercato, the Serie A side are keeping tabs on Timber ahead of the January transfer window, with Jose Mourinho a big fan of the Dutch ‘wonderkid’, who this summer was subject to plenty of interest from the Premier League and beyond, with United and Tottenham in the mix for the youngster.

With a reported price tag of £36m, the 21-year-old defender is one of Europe’s most exciting talents, with Timber set to travel with the Netherlands this summer for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. And a strong showing in Qatar could leas to both an increased valuation and more interest in the Utrecht-born talent.

As per CalcioMercato, Roma are keen to sign a new starting defender in January with Mourinho not pleased with the club’s current options, and Timber could be quite the coup for the Italian giants if they can beat the likes of Tottenham and Erik Ten Hag’s United for the defender’s signature.

Indeed, Timber was viewed by many as an Ajax player Ten Hag would look to bring to Old Trafford following the arrivals of Lisandro Martinez and Antony. However, given Roma’s new interest in the defender, there’s a good chance that the Red Devils could miss out on the 21-year-old prospect. Whilst there’s a good chance that Timber will reject the chance to sign for Roma in January, there’s still a high probability the defender will leave Amsterdam in 2023. And for Tottenham and United, they will have to push hard in the summer if they’re to win the race for the Ajax superstar.

Timber is on the right course to becoming the latest wonderkid to come from Ajax that every big club wants to sign, yet Roma could find themselves in pole position to land the defender ahead of the likes of Tottenham and United if they play their cards right and begin talks as soon as possible. Evra wants United to sign the player.