Manchester City are reportedly the favourites to sign Barcelona defender Sergino Dest, with the USMNT star open to a move to the Etihad Stadium.
According to a report from El Nacional, Manchester City have emerged as the frontrunners to complete the capture of Barcelona right-back Sergino Dest, who is likely to be sold by the Catalan giants in January.
Dest signed for Barcelona in the summer of last year from Ajax in a deal worth close to €25 million. However, the move has failed to work out as envisaged. The 21-year-old has been unable to convince of his abilities in his eighteen-month stint at Camp Nou.
While he was a regular under former manager Ronald Koeman, he never really made a good impression. And, things have gotten much harder for him under new boss Xavi Hernandez. Dest’s game-time has taken a hit under the new management, and following his disastrous display in the defeat to Bayern Munich earlier this month, the club took the decision to part ways with him.
Barcelona intend to recoup the €25 million that they shelled out to sign the USMNT international from his sale. There had been reports of interest from Bayern Munich while AS Roma are also keen on signing him. In addition, Manchester City are also among the clubs showing an interest in landing the 21-year-old Dest.
The Cityzens are in the market for reinforcements in the full-back positions as Benjamin Mendy has no future left at the club, while Oleksandr Zinchenko has been linked with an exit in January. As a result, Pep Guardiola is believed to have decided to continue with Joao Cancelo as a left-back permanently and is now looking for reinforcements at right-back to provide cover for Kyle Walker.
Dest, to that end, has emerged as a target, with Manchester City in a position to meet Barcelona’s valuation of the player. In addition, the 21-year-old is believed to be open to joining the Premier League champions as he would be moving to a top club where he will be challenging for and winning trophies regularly under one of the finest managers in Guardiola.
It has put the Cityzens at the front of the queue for the signing of Dest. However, it remains to be seen if they decide to make an offer for the ex-Ajax star in January or decide to wait till the summer to launch a move.
