Barcelona loan defender set to return to club next season after poor performances

Barcelona’s troubles with Sergio Dest haunted them during the summer transfer window and the club had to wait until the end to find him a loan move to AC Milan. After completing the deal, the club had high hopes that the American may join the Serie A outfit on a permanent deal come the end of the season.

Milan indeed had the option to make the deal permanent for a fee of around €20 million. But according to Diario SPORT, Barcelona fear that the Italian giants may not exercise that option due to his poor performances in Serie A.

Dest has indeed had a difficult time in Italy so far. With the halfway point of the season already concluded, the right-back has found it difficult to establish himself as a first-team regular for the Rossoneri.

He has featured in only eight league matches, only two of which were starts. The youngster has not been helped by a muscular injury that has kept him out on the sidelines for a few matches.

To make things worse for Dest, he was omitted from Milan’s Champions League squad during the second half of the campaign. It appears coach Stefano Pioli has put more trust in the likes of Davide Calabria and Junior Messias.

The report, therefore, suggests that Milan will not exercise the option to make Dest’s move permanent, meaning the American international is set to return to Camp Nou at the end of the season.

This will cause major headaches for the Barcelona board, as they are presently attempting to reduce the budget of the squad by offloading unwanted stars. The board is already contemplating the exit of prominent players including Ansu Fati and Jordi Alba.

In addition, Barcelona appear to have other plans in the right-back position, having recently brought in Julian Araujo from LA Galaxy while being linked with moves for stars such as Benjamin Pavard and Juan Foyth. Dest’s departure, therefore, could be imperative in Barça’s overall plans for next season.