Barcelona ‘fear’ on-loan defender will not end up staying at AC Milan

Upon his arrival, Sergino Dest was one of Barcelona’s few signings that showed an instant impact. The USMNT star had an extra gear in the final third, something his immediate predecessors lacked, which made him an instant hit amongst fans.

As the months progressed, however, the flaws in his game began to come to the fore. Defensively, the youngster was a mess and did not improve even after repeated criticism and months of patience.

Eventually, Xavi Hernandez froze the right back out of his plans and forced a departure. Dest joined AC Milan on loan with an option for the Serie A giants to make it permanent.

According to reports from Luis Rojo, Barcelona now fear that the youngster will return to Spotify Camp Nou at the end of his loan spell. The American star plays very few minutes in Milan and the Italian club do not intend to trigger the €20 million purchase option.

Dest has only made eight appearances for the team in this season’s Serie A, starting just two of them. He averages 42 minutes per game and the team has never maintained a clean sheet with him on the field. 

Dest averages just 1.5 tackles and 0.5 interceptions per game. In addition, he wins only 55% of his duels and has conceded one penalty already.

Barcelona are in dire need of a right back in the summer and will pursue the market closely in the hunt for a new name. After all, Xavi has been forced to use Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo at right-back owing to Hector Bellerin’s poor form. 

Dest would definitely be an upgrade to the Spanish right-back, but Xavi does not wish to encourage a player he does not see in the long term. Needless to say, the manager prefers to sign a player he can trust for the next decade and who fits better into his dynamics.

Milan could sign Dest on a permanent transfer, but for a fee lesser than the €20 million. It remains to be seen if Joan Laporta is open to negotiating on that front.