Arsenal suffer setback as target Sergino Dest rejects Barcelona exit
Martin Macdonald
- 30 Jul 2021 04:59 CDT
- 5 min read
Arsenal may need to look elsewhere in their pursuit of a new right-back as Sergino Dest has rejected a move to both the Emirates and Bayern Munich.
The Catalan giants signed Dest from Ajax for a fee believed to be in the region of €21m plus €5m in add-ons a year ago.
The club are still yet to find a true replacement for Dani Alves, with the likes of Aleix Vidal, Sergi Roberto and Nelson Semedo all featuring at right-back to varying degrees of success.
Dest impressed in his first season at Camp Nou and made the position his own, while he also flourished as a wing-back when Ronald Koeman switched to a 3-4-3.
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In total, he made 41 appearances in his first campaign.
Why then, do Barcelona wan't to sell them?
The Blaugrana don't actually want to sell Dest as Koeman is a fan, but their financial situation at the moment means that basically every single player is up for sale at the right price.
Barcelona are currently unable to register any new players including Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay, Emerson Royal and Eric Garcia until cuts of €200 million across the board are made.
They are also, crucially, unable to bring back Lionel Messi despite the Argentine agreeing terms on a five-year deal on 50% of his previous wages.
The club are €1.2 billion in debt, and have been ordered to slash their wage bill by La Liga to meet new regulations.
Potential Arsenal move
Arsenal currently have Hector Bellerin and Cedric Soares who can play at right-back, with the former enjoying his status as the club's number one choice in that position over the past five years.
However, his performances suffered a downturn in the tenure of Mikel Arteta which has led to the Arsenal bought seeking another right-back.
Bellerin was considered one of the most promising young full-backs in Europe a few years ago but he has seen his stock fall in recent seasons.
Now 26 and with his contract expiring in 2023, both the player and Arsenal are hoping to go their separate ways this summer.
FootballTransfers previously reported that Bellerin has actually asked to leave Arsenal, with a move to Inter to replace Achraf Hakimi desired.
Unfortunately for the Gunners, Bellerin's replacement will not be Dest, as the United States international is desperate to make a success of his career at the Camp Nou.
Bayern were also interested in Dest, like they were before Barcelona swooped in, but he won't be heading to Germany either.
