London, Jul 15 (IANS): Arsenal and Ajax have reached an agreement on the transfer of 22-year-old Dutch international defender Jurrien Timber to London, both clubs announced.

The two sides reached an agreement on a 40 million euros transfer fee (45 million U.S. dollars), which can increase to 45 million euros through variables, reports Xinhua.

Timber has agreed a five-year deal to become Arsenal's second signing of the close-season after the capture of forward Kai Havertz from Chelsea for around 82 million US dollars.

Timber joined the Ajax youth academy in 2014 and made his debut in the first team in March 2020. In total, he played 121 official matches for the first team of Ajax, in which he scored six goals. He won the Dutch championship twice (2021, 2022) and the Dutch Cup once (2021). He has also been capped 15 times for the Dutch national team, with four of those coming in the 2022 Qatar World Cup finals.

"I've always been a fan of Arsenal. It was because of my brothers. They were always Arsenal fans, and I just loved seeing Arsenal play. They had big players, the way they played, the style. I just love the club," he told the Arsenal official website.

Timber added that he also loved watching former Arsenal greats, Robin van Persie and Thierry Henry: "they were my favourite players," he said.

Meanwhile Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta was delighted by the signing. "We're really excited that Jurrien has joined us. He is a versatile young defender, who will fit into our system and provide our squad with so much added quality."

"Jurrien is a young player, but has already achieved so much. He has experienced what it's like to go to a major international tournament on more than one occasion, as well as the trophies he has won with Ajax. We look forward to welcoming and integrating Jurrien into the squad," he said.