Out-of-favor 21-year-old Barcelona star prefers move to Manchester United - Reports
After reportedly missing out on Frenkie de Jong, Manchester United could still end up doing transfer business with Barcelona this summer, with talented right-back Sergino Dest now said to be open to an OId Trafford switch.
The defender is one of the few players who are expected to leave Camp Nou before the transfer window closes in the coming days. Spanish outlet SPORT recently reported that Barcelona and Manchester United are already in talks over a potential swap involving the USMNT star and Aaron Wan Bissaka.
Things appear to be progressing steadily, with Adrian Sanchez (via Barca Universal) now reporting that Dest fancies the idea of joining the Red Devils.
Sergiño Dest is for sale. The club want to get some money out of him before he loses market value.
— @ffpolo https://t.co/O3PjeTwrZu
It comes as no surprise that the USMNT star is attracted to the project at Old Trafford at the moment. The defender had a good relationship with current United manager Erik ten Hag during his Ajax days. He played 38 games under the Dutch tactician before moving to the Catalan capital in October 2020.
Hence, it makes sense to reunite with the Dutchman, especially considering that he doesn't feature in Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez's plans.
The Blaugrana boss has frozen the defender out of his team, refusing to give him any minutes as he prefers other players, including Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde and Sergi Roberto, in the position.
When asked about the right-back situation at the club earlier this year, Xavi hinted that he's not counting on Dest, saying at a press conference:
"He knows what the situation is. Being honest, we wanted to sign Cesar Azpilicueta [from Chelsea] and we couldn't, so that's the situation.
"But we do have players to provide cover there. Ronald [Araujo] did well there last weekend, Sergi Roberto can play there and [Kounde] can as well in case of an emergency."
Who else could Manchester United and Barcelona sign this summer?
Barcelona are determined to sign a right-back since Xavi doesn't count on Dest. The likes of Juan Foyth, Thomas Meunier and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are all said to be on their radar at the moment. They are also interested in signing Manchester City's Bernardo Silva but the financial requirements for the transfer make it unlikely.
Manchester United, meanwhile, are said to be in the market for a new striker and a right-back. They continue to be linked with the likes of Victor Osimhen and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the centre-forward role while Dest could also be signed to take up the right-back spot.