and Liverpool are set to battle it out for the services of defender Jurrien Timber this summer but Jaap Stam warns that he may lack the aggression to succeed in the Premier League.
The 21-year-old chiefly operates at right-back, but can also play in the middle of defence and has already racked up 15 caps for Netherlands, having made his Ajax debut over three years ago.
was keen to bring Timber to Old Trafford when he made the switch from Amsterdam last year, but the move never materialised, but the Red Devils remain interested.
Liverpool are also keen on the defender, but Stam says both should be wary of the youngster’s mentality, which he has doubts about at the top level of English football.
‘The big advantage of United for Timber is that he already knows Ten Hag and vice versa,’ Stam told Dutch publication , via . ‘The intentions of the trainer are molded to Timber, but make no mistake: this is the . There you can’t always be dominant, you have to duel much more against strikers like and .
‘Everyone with Lisandro MartÃnez was also curious about that. It turns out that he did it. With Timber, I just miss a certain amount of aggression – sometimes even being a little mean – in his game.
‘That is also, for example, in giving the first blow before the real duels come. Martinez does. You can learn that too, but it has to be in you.’
Stam, though, is not saying United or Liverpool should not gamble on the Dutchman, and reckons his former club is the better option of the two for Timber.
‘You also have to look at combinations and chance of playing time,’ said Stam. ‘United can still use a defender, also because Raphael Varane is prone to injury and Harry Maguire is still disappointing.
‘In England I therefore see United as the most logical option. And what I would like to see more often is Timber as a right back. There are at United, where Dalot without the ball and Wan-Bissaka on the ball don’t quite convince me yet.’
, .
,  and .
