Sergino Dest, despite the initial rumours in the summer that he was in Barcelona's agenda for players to be sold in order to make room for newcomers, chose to believe what the directors and coach told him: that he can remain to show his worth.
But, that was not the case when he was and it was clear that he was in Xavi's plans when he was not included in the La Liga opener squad list against Rayo Vallecano on August 13. When asked about his options at right-back at the pre-game press conference, Xavi mentioned Kounde, Araujo and utility player Sergi Roberto. Reminded by a reporter about Dest’s name, Xavi replied “Sergino? He knows the situation.”
Villareal showed interest in signing the American right-back and were close to him. German side Borussia Dortmund were also keen with a possibility of a swap involving Thomas Meunier. Barca were interested in signing the Belgian international, but the two clubs never came close to agreeing how that deal would work.
AC Milan's right-back Alessandro Florenzi was injured. Paolo Maldini, for his part, had closely watched 21-year-old Sergino Dest’s development over time. Some other club members at Casa Milan, however, felt the position was still well covered, by club captain Davide Calabria, while Alexis Saelemaekers and Pierre Kalulu were options to fill in on occasion if required.
After discussions among the recruitment team, it was decided to take the opportunity to add Dest for a year and see how it developed. Milan then quickly made their move. Dest himself was made to feel very wanted, in contrast to the situation back at the Camp Nou. Barca finally accepted he could leave on a season-long loan, which included an option to buy at their €20million price.
