Sergiño Dest seemed set to convert his successful first season with PSV into a longer stay, but a new development has thrown the U.S. men’s national team right back’s future into uncertainty.
Eindhovens Dagblad reported on Thursday that PSV has decided to decline a €10 million purchase clause built into the loan deal with Barcelona that sent the 23-year-old to the Eredivisie for the 2023-24 season.
Dest was superb for PSV throughout a campaign that saw the club storm to both a 25th Dutch crown and the knockout stages of the Champions League.
However, on April 20 Dest suffered what turned out to be a torn ACL in training, and will be sidelined for several months at minimum.
Despite the injury, PSV manager Peter Bosz expressed strong interest in signing Dest to a permanent contract, praising the USMNT defender as a good fit for both his system and within the locker room.
It wasn’t the first time an authority at PSV said something along those lines. In December, sporting director Earnie Stewart said that the Dutch power would “probably do something” with the purchase clauses for both Dest and USMNT teammate Malik Tillman this summer.
Dest had also said he was enjoying his time with PSV, though his interest in staying further was offered in measured terms.
“I just want to go for my development and where I can play the most,” said Dest in April, just days before suffering his injury. “I have really been able to play my way up again [at PSV] and I want to continue to do so. Wherever my future lies, I just want to be able to play and develop myself.”
PSV may wait to sign Dest for free
Since then, two factors have complicated the matter. The first issue had crept into the discussion even before Dest’s injury: the combination of an eight-figure transfer fee and Dest’s desire to stay on wages in line with those in his contract with Barcelona is more than PSV was prepared to spend.
Second, the Eindhovens Dagblad report noted that Dest’s injury has removed the urgency to get a deal done quickly, as the fullback will almost certainly miss the first half of the 2024-25 season.
The theory goes that PSV could simply wait for Dest to enter the final six months of his deal with Barça on January 1, 2025. At that point, they could offer Dest a contract that would begin immediately upon the end of his time with Barcelona.
Doing so would allow PSV to bring Dest in without shelling out the €10 million fee, but that approach is not without risk. ESPN has reported that Ajax is also interested in Dest, while his performance with PSV has surely caught the eye of clubs across Europe.
Any club can offer Dest a pre-contract at the same time PSV reportedly intends to, opening the door to the USMNT man making his return elsewhere.
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