Chelsea are reportedly eyeing a £30 million January raid on Barcelona for the signing of Barcelona defender Sergino Dest.
According to a report from the Express, Chelsea are ready to launch an attempt to try and sign Barcelona right-back Sergino Dest in the upcoming January transfer window.
Dest has been a Barcelona player since last year when he arrived from AFC Ajax. While he was a regular in the side under Ronald Koeman, the 21-year-old never really managed to fully convince of his qualities, with things continuing similarly this season. The USMNT star has fallen out of favour under new manager Xavi Hernandez after a couple of sloppy displays against Real Betis and Bayern Munich.
Barcelona are believed to be open to parting ways with Dest in January should a sizeable offer come along in the winter. There have been rumours of interest from several clubs like Arsenal, Bayern Munich and AS Roma. Now, Chelsea are believed to have thrown their hat in the ring for the pursuit of the 21-year-old as well.
Chelsea’s interest in Dest stems from the uncertain future of veteran defender Cesar Azpilicueta. The Spaniard is out of contract at the end of the season and, interestingly, has been linked to Barcelona. His potential departure would leave Thomas Tuchel without any cover at right wing-back for first-choice defender Reece James.
In addition to that, the Blues have lost key left-back Ben Chilwell to a serious injury, leaving Marcos Alonso as the only option in the position. With the England international expected to be out for months, the Blues will need to address the issue to sustain their challenge for trophies on multiple fronts.
A move for Lucas Digne has been mooted, but Dest has now emerged as a target for Chelsea as he can provide cover on both right and left sides of the defence, making him an attractive option for the reigning champions of Europe. To that end, the west London giants are ready to launch a bid of around £30 million to secure the United States international’s services from Barcelona in the upcoming transfer window.
With Barcelona shelling big money to sign Ferran Torres, there will be departures in January to balance the books. It remains to be seen if it leads to Dest joining Chelsea.