It’s long been assumed that Sergiño Dest has no future at Barcelona.
Head coach Xavi made it abundantly clear last summer that he had no desire to see the U.S. national team right back continue at Camp Nou.
That was followed by Dest joining AC Milan on loan in a move that ultimately did not work out, to say the least. Dest made just eight league appearances for the Rossoneri, and his last appearance of any kind for the Italian club came in January.
Upon his return to Barcelona, the consensus was that Dest would be quickly sold by the La Liga champions. But a combination of the club’s dire financial situation and its thin depth chart at right back could offer the 22-year-old an unlikely route back into Xavi’s good graces.
Jules Kounde featured at right back for Barcelona last season, but the France international is naturally a center back. Sport reported this week that Barça is looking to sign a right back this summer, with Valladolid’s Iván Fresneda the top candidate. But as with any Barcelona signing these days, actually getting a deal done is somewhat complicated.
Enter Dest, who has returned to the club for preseason training.
It’s nice to be back! Let’s get to work 🫶🏽🔵🔴 @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/sPW4vWc1wM
— Sergiño Dest (@sergino_dest) July 11, 2023
Sport said that Xavi is willing to try Dest out in the preseason to see if he can prove his ability to help Barcelona this season. Should the USMNT right back fall short, he’d then be sold.
The report goes on to say that the Barça staff believes if Dest is “100 percent and focused, he can be a player who can contribute to the first team. Nobody has doubted his level, but they have doubts about tactical issues or consistency.”
A report from The Athletic echoed that message, saying that Dest’s “profile is interesting to [Barcelona], as a very fast player who can play on both sides of the defense. They believe that if the player is at 100 percent, his attributes are very useful to snuff out any problems from counter-attacks.”
Dest has been a regular at the Camp Nou before, making 30 league appearances in 2020-21 and 21 the following season. His stock may be down, but he appears to have a somewhat unexpected chance to once again be a key figure for the Spanish giants.
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