Barcelona have reached an agreement for the purchase of Sergino Dest from Ajax for a fee of €20 million plus €5 million in variables.
According to a report published by Goal.com, Barcelona have reached an agreement for the purchase of Sergino Dest from Ajax for a fee of €20 million plus €5 million in variables. The American defender will replace Nelson Semedo in the team.
Dest first caught the eye of football viewers during his spell with Ajax in 2019, coming through their academy. He played 20 games last season, registering four assists. During this time, he also made the tough decision to represent the US National Men’s Team, even though he had the chance to play for the Nertherlands.
There is little doubt over Dest’s attacking qualities, and proof of the same is that he has been used a left-winger by Erik ten Haag in the Eredivisie this season in the two games they have played. However, he lacks strong defensive prowess at the moment, but with age on his side, it is only a matter of time he develops that side of his game as well.
Dest has been continually linked with a move to Barcelona since his breakout season, especially given the two club’s strong relation over the past years. The transfer seems all the more likely now that the Catalan giants have announced the departure of Nelson Semedo from the club to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee of €35 million plus €5 million in add-ons.
Semedo was Barcelona’s third departure of the transfer window after the sales of Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal to Sevilla and Inter Milan respectively. The Blaugrana are far from done in the transfer window, though, and also want to finish the signing of a striker – preferably Memphis Depay, now that Luis Suarez’s transfer to Atletico Madrid looks inevitable.
Apart fromt the major club overhaul going on, there is also a huge chance for transition to the management, now that the ‘Vote of no Confidence‘ against Preisident Josep Bartomeu has reached more than 20,000 signatures, and reached into advance phases.
Eric Garcia is another name linked with a move to Barcelona, and could be set to return to the club in a deal involving a direct fee worth €18 million. The Spaniard refused to sign a new contract with Manchester City after learning about the interest from his boyhood club.
Not all transfers, or rumours have been looked at kindly by the Barcelona faithful across the globe as Koeman’s suggestion to send fan-favourite Riqui Puig off on loan came through with incredible backlash.
The question now remains that with such a fresh squad at the helm for the Dutch gaffer, how will Barcelona develop an on-field understanding with their season ready to kick-off in five day’s time.
