Manchester United and Chelsea are both interested in signing Barcelona defender Sergino Dest, according to Sport.
Dest was in-and-out of the starting line-up for Barcelona last campaign, and there continue to remain doubts regarding his future at the club.
United were linked with him earlier this month and Sport claim that they have now ‘intensified contacts’ with Barcelona to land his signature.
The Red Devils are eyeing a swap deal for the 21-year-old, but Barcelona are firm that they want to sell him in a straight-cash deal worth £17 million.
The Spanish outlet claim that Man United need to offload someone from the right-back department first before they make a serious approach for Dest.
Meanwhile, rivals Chelsea are also interested in signing the United States star despite extending the contract of Cesar Azpilicueta earlier this month.
Our view:
United currently have Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka as the regular right-back options, and the club are open to the possibility of offloading the latter.
Wan-Bissaka has struggled to impress in an attacking point of view for United. The 24-year-old has been poor with his crossing as well as ability to find key passes in the final third.
Hence, United are ‘open minded‘ over his future. There are no concrete purchase offers at the moment, but Wan-Bissaka could return to Crystal Palace on a season-long loan.
This could pave the way for United to sign Dest. The Red Devils may have a distinct advantage over Chelsea as they could assure the right-back with a regular starting position.
If he were to move to Chelsea, Dest may need to play second fiddle to Reece James, who has been exceptional from right wing-back with regular goal contributions for the club.
Compared to James, Dalot and Wan-Bissaka failed to contribute a goal or an assist last term. Dest would be an upgrade on them and knows manager Erik ten Hag from his Ajax days.
