I mean Dortmund tried to make Mateu Morey and Thomas Meunier work in the wake of losing Hakimi. So Dest can clearly play for Dortmund. But I expect he'll take a step down.
there must be something in the loan that has him fully iced out. To be fair, he was in line with his competition... So he's not off the roster because of skill (from what I saw) If there was an appearance clause that kicked in that buy option, this makes sense. Also, I'm sure barcelona doesn't care at the moment since he's persona non grata with them
Or maybe no one will be willing to match his salary and/or Barca's asking price, and he'll just disappear until the end of his contract. Or maybe he'll play for a relegated Barca side?
why wouldnt he be good enough for dortmund? ....but good enough for a lower german team....lower teams need better defenders than upper tier teams. hes a better fit for better teams bc they actually use attackers at fullback....whereas lower teams dont/cant
his lack of playing time is not because of his lack of ability. obviously. there are other considerations - economic, etc..... i think it was just bad luck bad timing in that other key players were injured in the team and the results didnt go as hoped for and thus he wasnt seen as enough of a difference maker to keep /.....but if the results had been good, he woulda been kept. not quite scapegoat...but not really fair either
I'd agree. Interesting too the KDLF has had a similar go of it, albeit at a lesser level. Both he and Dest seem to have gotten caught in the shuffle, cast off by Barca into essentially parts unknown. It's such a shame that Dest lost a year here and questions have to be asked of him, his group, and Barca. Yet another reason to hate this version of Barca
i certainly think barca did not do dest well....but they are going to win la liga this year, so at least their management isnt totally clueless....idk I think dest has levels of his game yet to unlock. he surely wont have any issue finding a good club to play for in the future...but he really needs to actually improve imo..... he's got all the skill in the world...but there's just something missing for him in terms of putting it all together.....needs a club and manager that will get the best out of him for his next stop.
Obviously the Milan move was not a stellar success, but some of it is Dest's own doing. He had the chance to move after Koeman left and should have taken it, but he took a gamble and it had mixed results, but he's still very young for a defender, and it's easy to forget that as late as Spring 2019 he was a Jong Ajax player sometimes playing with the u19s even. He didn't get his first BigAjax start till fall 2019 and even then he only got 15 starts in league. Since Spring 2019 - 4 short years - he's gotten 51 la liga apps, 23 ered, 20 CL, 8 Serie A, 7 Europa, a ton of cup matches, and the national team on top of it - well over 100 very competitive matches under a couple of very experience coaches (or experienced players who got to coach, in some cases.) If you'd pitched us that future in June 2019, most folks would have laughed you out of the bar. But this year has been treading water - time to find a new home that needs that puppy.
The ironic part is Barcelona has no way of bringing in new players this summer without massive player sales, and is potentially going to lose Gavinfor free because the rules don’t allow them to register his new contract.
Rules? In La Liga? No Rules. {Barcelona throws dirt on Financial Fair Play, etc, and thumbs its nose at La Liga and FIFA.} Well, if there aren't going to be any rules, let's get these signings started. Somebody count 1,2,3 go. 1,2,3 go. {Barcelona signs Gavi.} I was rooting for you all along, Barcelona. Well, thank you, Gianni. That's what sustained us in our time of trouble.
https://theathletic.com/4308500/2023/03/15/barcelona-la-liga-conflict-gavi/ I think that they aren't going to be able to pull off the same sorts of maneuvering as last summer. La Liga changed the rules so their "levers" that they used to raise money can't be used in the same way. And on top of that they completely mortgaged their future to sign a number of older players like Lewandowski who aren't even going to be around for that long.
Sergiño Dest has interest from Sevilla, Villarreal, Atlético Madrid and Valencia and an unnamed MLS side. [🌘: sport] pic.twitter.com/trTyTkvlgz— Joshua N. (@joshua_reports) March 21, 2023
If true, interesting that a lot of the bigger teams in the top league he's made the most appearances for are interested...perhaps they know he's a good player and an undervalued asset?
Before his 22nd birthday, he played in Champions League games tor Ajax, Barca, & AC Milan. Now he’s only 22 and has World Cup experience. Of course he’s going to have big clubs interested
Occam's razor suggests that maybe Dest just isn't up to the level of a top team right back. To me, he "flatters to deceive" as the Brit pundits would say. Sure, he has some qualities that seem impressive, but they haven't yet added up to a complete player that a coach could depend on. Last year I got into an argument here with a Dest fan who thought it was crazy that Xavi would drop Dest in favor of an out of position Ronald Araujo to combat Vini Jr. in el Classico. The fan claimed Dest was much better than Araujo, but now it is clear Araujo is one of the best defenders in Spain and Dest can't get a game.
I will quote a very clever poster above: Since Spring 2019 - 4 short years - he's gotten 51 la liga apps, 23 ered, 20 CL, 8 Serie A, 7 Europa, a ton of cup matches, and the national team on top of it - well over 100 very competitive matches under a couple of very experience coaches (or experienced players who got to coach, in some cases.) All by 22. Mr. Occam would shave that one as "gonna find a good team if Barca wanna deal him." You may well be able to claim his qualities "haven't yet added up to a complete player that *every* coach can depend on" but from Ajax to Koeman at Barca to Egg at USMNT, there are a number of pretty traveled coaches who find him perfectly dependable at a high level. The requirement that a 21-22 yo *must* start at every top 5/top 5 team to be *dependable* is a lot - and would mean teams miss a huge number of great players.
I have watched just about every Barca game he played in and those after he left. He has been replaced by either of two CB playing out of position on the right, and the results speak for themselves. And on the left (where he also played at Barca) he has been replaced by the 19 year old Blade who is already on the full Spain team. My point is that his qualities are right up front and visible, his deficiencies (positioning, decision making) reveal themselves over time and have made him unreliable at the top level. And a top team can afford a less reliable defender (if he offers a lot going forward) than a relegation threatened team could. So far Dest hasn't been nearly productive enough to balance out his defensive liabilities despite his impressive looking ball skills. It is unrealistic to expect the USA would have a world class right back, and our needs a more like a mid-table team who needs defensive stability and consistency rather than a top team who is always so much in control that it can afford a luxury right back.
And yet... Since Spring 2019 - 4 short years - he's gotten 51 la liga apps, 23 ered, 20 CL, 8 Serie A, 7 Europa, a ton of cup matches, He is obviously not a finished product. But he is also obviously very talented and will be pursued by ver decent teams in top leagues. How much they'll spend is a different question, but he's had an incredibly impressive 4 years. Milan was a poor move. He should have left Barca after Koeman did. But his ability and promise didn't disappear. He does need to improve his defensive positioning and awareness for sure - and be more dangerous in the attacking box. But so do a lot of top young players.
Jozy played 70 games in the Premier and scored two goals, so anything can happen. Who knows why coaches play certain players against everybody else's opinion.