Report: Chelsea set to compete with bitter rivals for 20-year-old Dutch defender

Transfer News: Chelsea will compete against Tottenham Hotspur for Ajax defender Jurrien Timber

According to football.london, Chelsea are in contention with Tottenham Hotspur to sign Jurrien Timber from Ajax. The 20-year-old Timber had been on the radar for Spurs this summer but the North London club went on to sign Emerson Royal from Barcelona on deadline day.

However, the report suggests that Chelsea have also joined the race to sign Timber from Ajax. The 20-year old defender was included in the Netherland’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers and was instrumental for Ajax last season in winning the league title.

Timber had a total of 34 appearances to his name in all competition for Ajax last campaign. He also featured in Euros 2020 for the Netherlands who crashed out of the tournament in the Round of 16 by the Czech Republic. With his recent performances, the player is also aware of the interest being garnered towards him.

The Blues are yet to tie Antonio Rudiger on a new contract and they have 36-year-old Thiago Silva who signed a one-year extension this summer.

In order to make up for the potential loss of their defensive players, the Blues have seemingly started considering options for next summer and will be keeping a close eye on the Dutch central defender.

Chelsea also allowed Kurt Zouma to depart from the club this summer to West Ham for £29.8m, which saw them lose another central defender considering they had already sold Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori.

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Currently, the Premier League giants have Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Andreas Christensen as their natural centre backs.

In case Thomas Tuchel loses any of his defenders in the near future, the Blues should be on hand to bring in a replacement. In either case, future-proofing the defence is the way to go. However, if they make a formal move for Timber in search of their next defender remains to be seen.