AC Milan have decided not to trigger the buyout clause in Sergino Dest’s contract as Premier League leaders Arsenal dodge a potential a bullet with the out-of-favour right-back, according to Sport.
At the age of 22, Dest already possesses a CV most footballers a decade his senior would be envious of. From Ajax to Barcelona, from Barcelona to AC Milan.
But while impressive on paper, Dest’s performances on the pitch are leaving a lot to be desired. After struggling to nail down a starting spot at the Camp Nou, the Dutch-born defender has found life even more difficult in his new Italian home.
Dest has been included in Stefano Pioli’s XI just twice in this Serie A season.
Milan currently have no intention of triggering the £17 million option-to-buy clause in his contract. Dest, the report adds, is neither living up to his expensive price-tag, nor his hefty wage packet.
AC Milan will send loanee Sergino Dest back to Barcelona
“He can be very good,” former Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart told Ziggo Sport in November. “But he always puts too much on his plate. He thinks he is much better than he is.
“He’s a defender, and you have to be a bit smart. He overestimates himself. It’s a good quality to know what you can and cannot do. Even the best players in the world have that.
“I am a fan of his, but he should not believe in himself too much as a right-back. You are right-back for a reason.”
Harsh perhaps, but Van der Vaart may have a point. Dest lacks the raw technical ability of, say, a Trent Alexander-Arnold or a Reece James; the former Tottenham talisman believing the Milan loanee would benefit from simplifying his game while focusing upon improving his defensive awareness.
Dest, Sport say, turned down the chance to join Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and even Arsenal during the summer of 2021. With the benefit of hindsight, considering what he knows now, maybe Dest would make a different decision if he could turn back the clock; Arsenal edging closer and closer to domestic glory as he wastes away on the San Siro bench.
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