USMNT Star Faces Uncertain Barcelona Future

One of the brightest young talents of the US men’s national soccer team, Sergino Dest, may soon have to find himself another home after recently being left out of Barcelona’s squad for their Spanish Supercopa final against Real Madrid.

The decision of Barcelona’s head coach, Xavi Hernadez, to exclude Dest from the lineup has been noticed by a host of clubs around Europe with NBC reporting that he’s attracting the interest of English Premier League title challengers, Chelsea, as well as current German champions, Bayern Munich.

The 21-year-old hasn’t had much time on the field over the past couple of months; he struggled with injury in November and missed the US Men’s National Team’s (USMNT) World Cup qualifiers against Mexico and Jamaica. However, upon his return in early December, Dest was withdrawn at half time in Barca’s 3-0 defeat to Bayern in the Champions League.

Xavi then announced to the press that the player has been suffering from a groin injury to add to his woes, which has also cast doubt on the chances of him being available for selection for the USMNT later this month. In late January, Gregg Berhalter’s squad take on both El Salvador and Canada as they aim to top the CONCACAF qualifying group and edge closer to a spot in this year’s World Cup finals. The USMNT are ahead of all their qualifying rivals, bar Mexico, in the current Ladbrokes football odds, meaning they’re expected to qualify for Qatar. But to be in the best position to ensure their place in the showpiece tournament in soccer, they need their best players match fit, firing on all cylinders, and right now, it looks like Dest may not fit into that category.

Dest arrived at the Nou Camp in October 2020 after Barca agreed to pay Dutch giants Ajax around $22m for his services. At the time, the coach at Barca was Ronald Koeman, and he confidently thrust Dest into his starting lineup, with the player making 41 appearances in his maiden season in Spain. However, it’s been a different story for the USMNT star this campaign as he’s struggled to shake off several injuries, and there have been unconfirmed rumors of a fallout between the player and Xavi. This came after the Barcelona legend returned to his former club, replacing Koeman in charge of the squad in early November 2021.

The Spanish giants aren’t amongst the favorites for the La Liga title, which seems unthinkable, and they are still only outsiders for a Champions League spot next season. It’s a tough time for everyone connected with Barcelona, as their well-documented financial issues continue to hamper their prospects on the pitch. But, in Dest, they have a player who could give their chances of returning to European action in 2022 a real shot in the arm. His performance in their game against Valencia earlier this season, which resulted in him getting a standing ovation from supporters, is proof of that. However, we will have to wait and see if his head coach feels the same way and brings him back to thinking sooner rather than later.

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