Starting: Team news #JongAjax! ✖️✖️✖️Kotarski; Dest, Schuurs, Botman, Bakker; Gravenberch, Eiting, De Wit; Cerny, Sierhuis, Kühn.#jajoss— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) December 7, 2018
Nope. Have to be playing competitively for the 1st team of 2nd-tier leagues like Holland, Scotland, Norway, etc. to get graduated to the big-boy forum.
Negative: "YA Coaches, Youth Players (and those not playing competitively for a first division second tier league (Holland, Scotland, Norway, etc.) or 2nd division first tier league (England, Spain, etc.)), Rumors (supported news/rumors about potential new YAs with link), History, and Alumni, and more!"
Seems like the Dutch agree: Dest niet voor de eerste keer met een goede voorzet vanavond. De back doet veelvuldig mee in de aanvallen van Jong Ajax. #jajoss— Ajax Showtime (@Ajaxshowtimecom) December 7, 2018
Rough translation: Not for the first time he's had a good cross tonight. The defender often participates in the attacks of Jong Ajax.
So does anyone know what's going to happen with him and Ajax this summer? His contract expires in June right? I can't imagine they want him to sign for free with another Dutch club but he doesn't have an extension yet. So what do we think is happening here?
They're not fast tracking him and giving valuable minutes to someone they don't anticipate being a long-term piece. Clubs like Ajax really value developmental minutes. They probably have a half dozen guys they could be giving them to.
The first team right back is Noussair Mazraoui, a 21-year-old academy product whose transfer value on Transfermarkt has risen in the past 8 months from 540k Euros to 5.4 million Euros. Mazraoui got tastes of the first team throughout the 2017/18 season but mostly played for Jong Ajax, like Dest is doing now, until the very end of the season when he took over the starting job for the first team. He's started every Champions League game (Ajax is already through to the knockout rounds) and all but one Eredivisie game for Ajax. My understanding is that the club is trying to sign Mazraoui to a contract extension but haven't been able to yet. I assume he'll be a transfer target in the summer. As for Dest, he still hasn't signed a contract with Ajax and he can't play for the first team until he does.
Also there are three other players ahead of him. Kristensen, Orejula, and Veltman (who is just coming back from injury but I think he's pretty good).
The level he’s playing at is better than all of our guys in academies now. I’m the least worried about Dest not transitioning to the first team.
It's not about his ability that anyone should be concerned but availability of opportunity with possibly 4 guys in front of him and no first team contract may encourage him to look elsewhere for his footy future.
Finally, he gets his first team contract. Until 2021 and took a bit longer than i expected. Let’s hope he gets promoted soon now! Sergiño Dest ➡️ 🖊😍2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣1️⃣❗️📃 All info: https://t.co/GsJxLPDAhl pic.twitter.com/w2Qk8Uk4pA— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) December 10, 2018
Ajax was obviously listening to me. I knew there was no way they wanted him to leave on a free to one of their fellow dutch rivals. Good for Dest; good for Ajax. I expect him to play for Jong Ajax the rest of the season and then we'll see who they sell this summer as to whether he starts making the 1st team bench right away or goes back to Jong for a while longer.
I think it will depend on how he does in the U20-WC if he shines like he can, then I think he will get at least an invite to a friendly.