Sergino Dest originally looked set to play a role with La Liga club Barcelona this season, but now the American fullback is reportedly set to exit before the end of the Summer Transfer Window.
Barcelona will either let Dest leave on loan or mutually part ways with the U.S. men’s national team player, Sport reported Monday. FC Porto was previously linked with adding Dest on loan for the upcoming season, but interest has reportedly died down.
Clement Lenglet is also set to leave Barcelona this summer, along with Dest.
Dest, 22, joined Barcelona from Dutch club Ajax in 2020 and proceeded to registered three goals and four assists in 72 combined appearances. Although, his last appearance for the Catalan club came back in April 2022, the American defender was with Xavi’s squad during their preseason tour in the United States.
However, he did not dress in Barcelona’s goal-less draw with Getafe on Sunday.
Dest helped the USMNT win its second-straight Concacaf Nations League title in June. A former dual-national player, Dest has earned 25 caps with the USMNT, scoring two goals and registering four assists.
Ronald Araujo has been used at right back in Xavi’s squad while Sergi Roberto is also an option.
Barcelona will host Cadiz in its home opener on August 20 before traveling to Villarreal on Aug. 27.
I hope Baca release Dest. If they do there will be options for him in Europe in a number of countries. Union Berlin had interest….just didn’t want to pay 20M. Would love to see BvB pick him up as they have a proven track record of developing players. He’d be welcome back in Holland as well since he wouldn’t be subject to the inflated fee Dutch clubs have to pay to employ non-Dutch players.
I’m sure he could find a landing at a number of the French Clubs as well.
If released he just needs to choose a place that is going to help him develop and are going to play him…..and not the just a club that’s got prestige or is willing to pay him the most.
AC Milan…..stop playing and complete the US trio. I know he signed in 2022/2023 for just a one-year loan with option to buy for €20 million AND THEY DIDN’T BUY. But now with Pulisic and Musah on the team, it would be A GREAT INVESTMENT!!!!!
Umm they hardly even played him. They valued him so little they let him fly to the states and play Mexico in a non window.?He wasn’t what Milan wanted that’s a terrible idea.
Whoever moderates this thing needs to pay more attention. My comments never post and there are people using F bombs etc. not cool….
Barca, mainly Xavi, screwed the pooch on this one. Xavi’s disdain and open remarks about how poorly Dest fits in at Barca has made teams hesitant to pay anything for him. I’d attribute that to also getting in his head which affected his time at AC. I really hope he gets cut free. I’m sure tehre will be no shortage of clubs wanting to pick him up on a free. He will take some time to work out the disappointment (a la Konrad. Hopefully Dest wil fair better). FWIW – he has looked out a level below for Barca…
Inter Miami if there are no other quality suitors where he get starts… would be a lot of fun
I did think that. You can see Bousquets and Messi try really hard not to pass it to Yedlin because it’s where attacks go to die. I’m not sure they have any salary options available to pay Serge a reasonable salary.
i already do not know how miami is affording this and they have been dinged before for ignoring roster/cap rules.
This is sad because I really like Dest and he is a good player, Barcelona just want a big brute and Dest is not a 6 foot plus physical presence.
Barcelona like many other big European teams prefer finished products or close to finished products. They really don’t want developmental projects. Dest is still developing his defensive side. I think he needs to comes to terms that he is more suited for Winger/ RWB roles. Agent and him need to find a good landing spot. Regardless if that landing spot is on a lesser team.
Gavi is like 17-19 and still developing that Barcelona only like players still developing excuse is a no for me. Unless Xavi slightly prejudice/biased and has more patience for Spanish playersstill developing. I am part Afro Taino Puerto Rican American I know how Spaniards like Xavi get down lol.
Personally I think Dest is more suited as Winger or attacking midfielder. Surprised a team hasn’t even looked at bringing him as a winger or attacking midfielder. Plenty of teams need attacking players in Europe. As a RB and defending he is average, but his attacking prowess is well above average.
Why is he so undervalued? He is a tremendous player this doesn’t make sense to me how nobody is picking him up he is phenomenal
Defensive liability. Constantly loses his mark and doesn’t track back.
Coaches at high levels don’t seem to like that.
NOT TRUE. I have watched so much of Dest. Dude has a brain fart or a poorly timed tackle almost every game. He’s a young defender. Sergio Ramos had two almost every game until he was 25 (then it was just red cards LOL). Kid will come good. I hope he moves to the B’Liga or to another Spanish team. He’d probably be excellent in Ligue 1 as well.
He does need a system that plays wingbacks because he is not a true fullback, though. If I was a team with a three-man backline I’d be all about bringing him in.
Surprised there’s so little interest. Plenty of teams use wingbacks and he’s an upper-tier one. If an MLS team somehow lucks into him he’d likely be the best player on most rosters.
Q, I have wished for ATL to go get him so many times BUT MLS is a level (or two) below his skill set, though I think getting consistent reps at 2p would be a huge benefit for him. AND the ATL fans would go bananas to have him in the 5 Stripes
It was more about his lack of physicality last season with AC Milan at 5’7” he also has a slight frame. Saw multiple times last season he was easily outmuscled by offensive players due to their upper body strength. And he does have a habit of switching off at times. Evidence of that happened against Netherlands when they scored the second goal before halftime. Daly Blind snuck behind him. Dest never looked over his shoulder to identify any threats coming in behind him. But like I said he has tremendous potential when attacking. Might be the USMNT most technically skilled players. Why it’s crazy a team hasn’t identified him as more of a Winger/Wingback/attacking midfielder.
TK,
Not really. There are more than a few succesful clubs out there with defensive liabilities at right back. Do you think that Trent Alexander-Arnold is a defensive demon?
Dest was just fine for us for the entire World Cup except for the last game when he, like all of them, ran out of gas.
The reality is Dest was brought in by Koeman, who thought very highly of him. But Koeman got sacked. And Xavi was never in love with Dest.
I think he’s still there is because Xavi is manager at a time when Barca have a lot of trouble bringing in players so he could not just buy a replacement for Dest.
Dest is a very talented player but he’s still young and still needs to be developed. He’s also very passionate and quite emotional . In English that means he plays better in a stable situation where the manager really believes in him and everyone is very focused with clear defined roles
When Gregg has fucked around with Dest trying him as a winger or a left back, Dest did not do as well as he did in the World Cup where it felt as if his role was very clearly defined.
His contract seems to be an impediment for other clubs who are bargain hunting . I’m not the only person who sees the potential there. Once he gets out of Barca I expect him to do much better if he can get to a safe, sane, stable place where he can continue developing.