Tottenham target Jurrien Timber now looks set to start ahead of Matthijs de Ligt for the Netherlands at the World Cup.
It was 90min who revealed that Spurs are huge fans of the 21-year-old, who burst onto the scene under Erik ten Hag at Ajax, and he has now won the approval of Louis van Gaal as well.
Tottenham target Timber set for World Cup starting role
Well, a lot of managers would succumb to the pressure of naming a £68m defender in their starting XI, simply because of his pedigree.
However, Van Gaal does not seem to care that De Ligt cost that much, or that he is doing well for Bayern Munich, as he gets set to place his faith in Timber.
According to De Telegraaf, Timber now seems certain to start under the 71-year-old in Qatar as the Netherlands look to give him a strong sendoff before Ronald Koeman takes the reins.
If true, that is quite a special bit of information.
Timber has only ever made ten appearances for the Netherlands, whereas De Ligt has won 38 caps while also playing regularly for two European giants in Juventus, and now Bayern Munich.
Clearly, Tottenham are targeting a superb defender in the Ajax wonderkid, who looks set to have a very bright future on the international scene, as well as in club football.
Tottenham face significant fee for Timber
In some ways, Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici may actually be annoyed that Timber will be starting for the Netherlands in Qatar.
The 21-year-old has a relatively low profile at the moment, so Spurs may be able to complete a deal for a reasonable fee in the region of £30m.
However, if Timber goes on to become one of the stars of the World Cup, Tottenham could easily face paying closer to £60m for their centre-back target.
Ajax held out for £56.7m from Manchester United when selling Lisandro Martinez over the summer, so the Dutch giants would be well within their rights to demand £60m for one of their brightest talents.
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