Barça is debating at this time about whether to go after the very young Sergio Dest, a 19-year-old Dutchman with a US passport from Ajax, or to buckle the purchase option he has with Emerson Royal, Betis's Brazilian side and with a non-EU passport. The sales of Semedo and Wagué, especially that of the Portuguese, force Barça to sign a right-back urgently. The Catalans have both options open.
Sergiño Dest burst into the current Barça situation in May. Ajax right back with a Dutch mother but an American father, the Veronica Inside program, from a Dutch television, assured that at the time that the player was close to Barça, a club he would have chosen over Bayern Munich. The footballer's agent, Joes Blakborn, assured De Telegraaf at the time that there was no “concrete interest” from Barça, although he admitted that on occasion he had asked about the very young player, born on November 3, 2000. Now, Barça hopes to bring the player on loan with a mandatory purchase option. Meanwhile, Bayern has the money from the transfer of Thiago to try to convince the player.
For its part, the name of Emerson Aparecido Leite de Souza Junior (14-1-1999) began to sound loud in the office of the Barça technicians in January. Known as Emerson Royal (for the resemblance his aunt found to the mascot of a famous jelly brand in Brazil), the very young 21-year-old right-back made good progress last season. Since then, Barça has considered executing the clause by which it could advance the arrival of the player, foreseen by contract until 2021. The arrival of Emerson then linked with one of the ideas that haunted the minds of the Barça technicians: to sell Nelson Semedo.