Jurrien Timber’s twin brother Quinten looks like he will be on the move from Feyenoord with Marseille coming to an agreement with the 24-year-old who is now six months from the end of his contract and out-of-favour with Robin van Persie.
L’Équipe report that Marseille are lining up Quinten Timber for a free transfer in June, although Feyenoord are determined to receive a fee for him, which would mean selling this month.
The reliable French outlet added that Timber made it official this weekend that he wants to leave Feyenoord, where he has a ‘complicated’ relationship with head coach Robin van Persie, the former Arsenal forward.
Van Persie has indicated the player’s future will be decided with a transfer, a move that would stop Feyenoord losing him without compensation after paying more than €7.5 million to sign him from Utrecht in 2022.
Timber has gone on to become a Netherlands international, earning eight caps since 2024, although his rise was hampered by a knee injury that ruled him out for almost the entirety of the second half of last season.
After losing the captaincy, he has been less prominent this season, playing in a more offensive role that has reportedly not suited his qualities.
Feyenoord have also struggled as a team, sitting second in the league, 16 points behind PSV Eindhoven. After Sunday’s 4-3 home defeat by Sparta Rotterdam, Van Persie also criticised Timber’s commitment in training, comments that further underlined the split between the pair.
Former Feyenoord coach Brian Priske, who led the club from June 2024 to February 2025 and made Timber captain, offered a very different view of the player’s attitude and potential.
“I don’t want to talk about what is happening now but I can say that we had an excellent relationship,” Priske said. “We were discussing all the topics that related to football, the game and the culture, the environment of the club, and I really appreciated that.
“He’s had injuries since, but I have no doubts about his ability to perform. He is still young and he is very hungry. He is very ambitious and professional, always working hard in the gym and present at the training centre during the rest days.”
Priske also backed Timber’s ability to adapt away from the Netherlands, stressing that his profile allows him to fit into different systems.
“He is a modern, box-to-box midfielder who knows how to run for a long time and very hard with the ball,” he added. “He can play in all positions in the middle. He works hard, has good discipline and knows how to make assists or score with a good strike. His main quality is ball control, it’s very hard for opponents to get in position to take the ball from him because his protection is excellent.”
The report also says that he remains a sought-after player, with Marseille hopeful of beating the competition to reach an agreement with Feyenoord in the coming hours.
Arsenal have been briefly mentioned as a potential destination over the last 12 months but there seems little to those rumours.