Barcelona have completed the signing of Ajax right-back Sergino Dest.
The talented young right-back has undergone a tremendous breakthrough year at the Johan Cruyff Arena, quickly emerging as one of the most brightest players in his position.
His breathtaking performances this year for the Dutch giants has certainly not gone unnoticed. Not only has Dest impressed domestically, but at international level too, choosing to represent the US instead of the Netherlands where he was born.
After making his debut for the US in September 2019, he’s gone onto make a further two caps, earmarking himself as a permanent right-back for the United States and also one of the most promising young full-backs in Europe.
Who is Sergiño Dest?
Born in Almere, Netherlands, to a Dutch mother and American father. Dest started out at his hometown youth academy Almere City FC until 2012 when he made the switch to the Ajax youth teams. After successfuly progressing through the ranks at the club, he finally made his debut for Jong Ajax – the reserve side – in October 2018 in a 2-1 loss against PSV’s reserve side.
Over the course of the 2018/19 campaign, the full-back impressed, making 17 appearances in the Dutch Eerste Divisie, scoring once and having a hand in two goals. He also played a significant role in the prestigious UEFA Youth League where he scored once and assisted once.
In fact, 2019 was dominated by the Netherlands and United States looking to tie down the youngster to their pool of talents. Ronald Koeman stated his admiration for Dest, getting his staff to challenge for his services before he made his decision. In what was one of the most followed dual-nationality story line in recent memory, Dest ended all of it, choosing to represent USA, making his debut for the senior debut for the senior team against Mexico in Septmeber, after representing the U17 and U20 youth sides.
Noussair Mazroaoui’s injury at the beginning of the current season paved the way for Dest to shine his bright young light. He quickly became a permanent fixture for Erik Ten Hag’s side at right-back, and the huge promise that Dest exhibited during the Under-20 World Cup came to the fore for the club both domestically and in Europe.
How has Sergiño Dest emerged on the scene?
In an era where full-backs are tasked with greater responsibilities in the attacking phases of play as well as in defence, Sergiño Dest is your prototypical modern full-back.
A player with such electricity in his running, movement and such trickery with the ball at his feet, Dest has shown such remarkable growth when tasked with such responsibilities for Ajax’ first team. He’s taken in such rigours like a duck to water. His grace on the ball and close control makes him such a pleasing player to watch.
Dest’s confident energy and swagger is typical of many American talents currently plying their trades in the top European leagues.
The Dutch-born right backs development at Ajax has refined his abilities to link up with his teammates and hold a greater understanding in keeping the ball within Ajax’ possession based system. He isn’t one of those full-backs who shies away from having the ball, quickly giving to the more creative players after breaking into the opposition half.
Dest is a fearless right-back, one who is always looking to drive his team up the pitch with his pace and elegant ball control, and also possesses the unique abilities, considering his position, to become such a creative spark in the final third.
The wonderkid created 4 goals in the Dutch Eredivisie last season, he also averaged 1.3 dribbles per game, 0.9 key passes and has also 38.8 passes per game with a 87.5% success rate meaning he is very adept at keeping possession when need be. The 19-year-old constantly causes disruption to the opposition back-line through the threatening positions he takes up when on the attack.
His 1.3 shot assists per 90 minutes across the Champions League and Eredivisie have all come from attempted short passes, and his 1.6 completed dribbles per 90 is an impressive feat considering this is only his first year in top-flight football.
While his attacking qualities stand him out, there are some minor issues with his defensive capabilities, however those will improve as he matures and blends in completely with the team.
Because of his attacking prowess, he is required to show more intelligence and awareness of his side’s defensive fragility in order to have a free reign when getting forward. He is calm and collected when in 1v1 situations simply because he knows how a winger thinks because of his own attacking tendencies.
What does the future hold for Sergiño Dest?
A true up and coming full-back ready to take the whole world by storm. Sergiño Dest is a player who certainly plays with the universe at his feet. While many may argue that a move to Barcelona may just be too soon for the right-back due to his age, and a lack of elite-level experience seeing as last campaign was his first playing first team football, Barcelona have certainly captured a player for the future.
Ronald Koeman is familiar with Dest’s talents after the former Netherlands manager attempted to recruit the right-back for the Dutch National team, but he instead chose to represent the country of his father. Now, Koeman has the opportunity to fully harness Dest’s capabilities at Barcelona.
The club is looking to shift into a new age, and Dest represents such a transformation with his youthful, fresh and exciting footballing talents. Moving to the Camp Nou comes with its pressures, though and it will be interesting to see how Koeman looks to protect Dest and provide him with the conditions and environment to develop and fully utilise his true potential.
There is no doubt that Dest can become one of the most impressive young full-backs in world football. The list of world stars who have started at Ajax is indeed a very long, Sergiño Dest is well on his way to painting his name amongst that prestigious list.
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