Sergino Dest is one of the players at FC Barcelona who is not in the plans of Xavi for next season, and has his future highly uncertain at the moment. The player returned from a loan at AC Milan this summer, and a conclusive decision about his future remains to be taken by the club.
Recently it was reported that the club is not too eager to keep the defender in the squad for the upcoming season and would actively look for opportunities to offload the player.
Both sporting and economic reasons provided the basis for such a decision, as the Catalan club believes the player lacks the tactical aptitude required to succeed in Xavi’s setup, and his annual salary of more than €10 million also being a significant burden on the club’s coffers.
However, the latest reports from Catalunya Radio claim that Xavi has decided to take him to the United States for the pre-season tour. During this tour, the fullback will have opportunities to convince Xavi of his utility to the squad and thus hopefully, get an important role for the upcoming season.
Right now, Xavi does not have many options to cover the right-back position. Joao Cancelo is a priority candidate for Barcelona to fill this position, but he is also seemingly going farther away from the club as the Catalans believe that a loan for him for a high cost is not worth the trouble. Further options in Ivan Fresneda and Pablo Maffeo are also being considered.
Still, the possibility of Dest becoming the starting right-back for Xavi cannot be ruled out. Other players like Clement Lenglet and Alex Collado have been given the permission to skip the training sessions to sort out their futures.
On the other hand, Dest has been training with the squad since day one, and is confident that he can gain Xavi’s trust in this pre-season.
