Barcelona seems to be interested in Sergiño Dest (Almere, November 3, 2000), side of Ajax. Its operation is not expected to be simpleBut if the Camp Nou is completed, a player with everything necessary to become one of their idols would win.
He is a player who enters through the eyes very easily because he has everything a side fan could ask for. In defense, as much as it has to improve, it leaves the skin in every action and is very fast (The one in charge of staying in the center of the field in the corner kicks in favor to stop the possible counterattacks). Getafe fans will remember what Cucurella made him suffer and, in turn, how he held his pulse with dignity. But it is very significant how Ten Hag this season preferred Mazraoui over Dest in the two most important matches in the Champions League: Stamford Bridge and the decisive visit by Valencia.
In attack you can expect the unexpected. “Sometimes he looks like a 10, he has that kind of quality. 99 out of 100 times he gets the dribble, I think that is what sets him apart”Said Tab Ramos, U-20 coach to The Guardian. In fact, in line with these words, in some actions he has been seen in playmaker positions and is very skilled in small spaces. “What I like about him is that he is not afraid when under pressure, which is what you see in many defenders, that they are not comfortable with the ball at their feet. He is going to dribble or pass between the lines, which he does very well “Van den Bergh, Ramos' assistant.
Just because a winger is offensive doesn't mean he looks like Dani Alves and, as much as the comparison sought in Barcelona is, it is far from that profile. Dest has more imagination for the overflow being, in this sense, more Brazilian than Alves, and has left heels, bikes and elastics in some games. But, for example, Sergiño's foot is light years away from Dani's, being more effective when it reaches the baseline and passes behind than looking for the center from above before reaching the height of the area. He is as agile physically as he is mentally and the walls with the end (Ziyech has been his ideal partner, whom he has not tired of doubling out this season) is one of his favorite movements.
His career in the first team does not last a year. In the U-20 World Cup, one of his first “I'm here” was a right-back and has played there all this season. But in the Netherlands the preseason starts at the end of June and in those times of 2019 Tagliafico was still playing the Copa América. This was one of the keys for Dest to earn the respect of the coach and the fans. He had not yet debuted with the older ones, but andn this month he played many minutes on the left wing and shone. It can be an important aspect for Barcelona.
Some of its aspects to value for its signing are its projection and what it can mean at the level of marketing In America. Dest has not stopped growing since she debuted with the first team and in January Ajax have already rejected an offer from Bayern close to 20 million euros. The coronavirus economic crisis may lower its value a little, but in no case would it be below this figure. On the other hand, Van der Sar already wore him as a visible image of one of his advertising campaigns in the United States, a not inconsiderable market that increasingly opens its doors to soccer.
Holland for her mother or the United States for her father
One of the biggest controversies he has had to deal with this season is with the choice of the country to represent. His mother is Dutch and he was born in Almere, but his father is an American military man, allowing him to play with the United States, a country that also feels like its own. This feeling is what made him leave a stage in Qatar for not feeling comfortable in the Arab country.
In the September national team break he debuted with the American first team, but it was in two friendlies, and in the October he was not called. Koeman struggled in these two months to convince Sergiño, but ended up deciding to play for the United States. “As a child I only thought about playing for Ajax and the Dutch national team. Never for the United States. But the Netherlands did not come near me.”