BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Sergio Dest became the first American player to sign for Barcelona’s most productive team on Thursday, after the young right-back signed a five-year contract.
Barcelona paid Ajax 21 million euros ($24. 7 million) plus an additional five million euros in add-ons to win over the defender.
“I have no doubt that he will be a very Barca player,” Coach Ronald Koeman said Wednesday when Dest arrived at the club and passed his medical examination.
Dest, 19, will upgrade Nelson Semedo after his transfer to Wolverhampton in England, and give Koeman the option to see Sergi Roberto on the right side of the defense.
A quick and deft rear wing, Dest can shoot from the area and scorers to cross the other. Born in Almere, the Netherlands, he grew up on Ajax’s formula of offensive and fluid soccer that maintains close ties with Barcelona. since the wonderful Dutch Johan Cruyff played and coached the Catalan team.
Barcelona will expect it to offer a risk from the right wing to balance Jordi Alba’s deep runs on the left. Koeman needs his sides to be consistently targeted at the attack, allowing the team’s strikers to take the area’s goals in the area. Box with Lionel Messi.
Dest is the newest piece in Barcelona’s rebuilding task under Koeman, who was successful as coach after the team’s devastating 8–2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League in August. The club also brought midfielder Miralem Pjanic and strikers Francisco Trinco and Pedro “Pedri” González, dropping Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic and Arthur, as well as Semedo.
Dest can join through some other American, Konrad de los angeles Fuente, who is part of the Barcelona reserve team. Koeman gave him time for plos angelesying the preseason and praised his performances.
Dest has a Surinamese-American father and a Dutch mother and chose to play for the United States than for the Netherlands.
Dest joined the U. S. national team last October, a month after making his U. S. debut, and still had the option, under FIFA rules, to replace his association with the Dutch national team because he had played in friendly matches against Mexico and Uruguay.
Dest tied his career abroad in the United States on November 16, helping the team succeed in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF League of Nations by beating Canada 4-1. In the past he had played for the United States in the Under-17 and Under-17s. -20 World Cups.
“I talked to Sergio about the national team, because he had the opportunity to play for Holland or America,” Koeman said. “But ultimately, you have to (take) a resolution through the player, because that’s their feeling from within. . . . and he nevertheless took the decision to play for the U. S. national team, no problem. He’s smart for football. ‘
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