Erik ten Hag pushing Manchester United towards Sergino Dest, but major hurdle emerges
Eric ten Hag is hoping Manchester United can lure full-back Sergino Dest away from Barcelona in the next month.
The former Ajax boss has already seen Frenkie de Jong knock back his advances and he may be facing a similar situation with Dest. The United boss has already added left-back Tyrell Malacia and centre-back Lisandro Martinez.
Ten Hag though seems determined to remodel a back four that conceded 57 goals in 38 Premier League matches last season.
According to El National, Ten Hag is far from convinced by current right-back options of Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Dalot has been the man to start at right-back in pre-season, with Wan-Bissaka often replacing him in the second half. But the Spanish outlet claim Ten Hag “does not seem to trust either”.
That seems plausible given talk of Wan-Bissaka’s links back to Crystal Palace. And the source claims Ten Hag has instructed John Murtough to look into a deal for USA star Dest.
Man Utd boss Ten Hag knows all about the 21-year-old, who was born in Holland. He gave the defender his big break at Ajax and is understood to be a big fan of the player.
United though, it seems, will have their work cut out trying to sign Dest. Fabrizio Romano insists that Dest, like De Jong, wants to stay at the Camp Nou.
Azpilicueta arrival could impact Dest
Dest though was hindered by injury last season and was only a bit-part player under Xavi.
The potential arrival of Cesar Azpilicueta from Chelsea could also further cloud his situation. Dest will be looking to improve on last season;s 17 LaLiga starts, but the experienced Azpilicueta will block his path.
It’s that angle that El National claim could see Dest jump ship to United. Ten Hag wants him and Barca chiefJoan Laporta would be satisfied with a €20m fee.
For the time being though Dest appears committed to fighting for game time in Catalonia.
That could change though if Azpilicueta arrives in Spain. Xavi is thought to have concerns over Dest and in fact held detailed sessions with the defender on his tactical understanding of the game.
Diario AS reported that Barcelona’s new coaching staff were unimpressed with aspects of Dest’s game and were desperate to improve him.