Transfer News: Chelsea eye Barcelona's Sergino Dest as a replacement for Cesar Azpilicueta. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
According to Diario AS journalist Javi Miguel via @Transferzone00 (h/t Football.London), Barcelona have decided to offload Chelsea targets Sergino Dest and Ousmane Dembele to raise funds for completing a transfer move for Erling Haaland.
Barcelona’s financial crisis was apparent again when they struggled to find space in their wage bill in order to register new signing Ferran Torres. Even though the arrival of Joan Laporta at the helm was termed to be a problem-solver for the Catalan giants, the new president hasn’t found all the answers to all their perils.
Dest and Dembele are two of the finest young stars at the Catalan-based outfit, and Chelsea would certainly be on red alert if the two of them are actually free to leave their club.
Despite having a hefty debt and financial instability, Barcelona haven’t dropped their dream of signing one of the most prolific youngsters of the footballing world. Erling Haaland has been on the radar of several top-tier European teams, and the Blaugrana club is eyeing a deal to land the Borussia Dortmund star.
However, to make a substantial offer for the Norwegian star, Joan Laporta’s board must first offload some current players. Due to the current requirements, Barcelona have decided that they want to sell Sergino Dest and Ousmane Dembele – the two players with whom Chelsea have been linked in recent times.
After injuries to Ben Chilwell and Reece James, we are certainly short of options down the flanks and the USMNT starlet could well be a smart addition in that regard. However, according to The Telegraph (Subscription Required) [h/t football.london], Barcelona manager Xavi desires that Dest should be sent out on loan with a view for a permanent deal.
Even though we lack depth in the forward role, there is an urgent need for an aggressive full-back. Marcos Alonso is the only recognised left wing-back at the club who is fit and at 31 years of age, he is at the risk of being worn out. Therefore, securing the signature of Dest, even on a loan move, would be a smart scenario.
Dembele has largely been restricted to the bench at Camp Nou due to recurring injury issues. He is young and talented- that has never been in doubt- but there isn’t really an urgency to sign another versatile winger. We already have a young winger in Callum Hudson-Odoi who is struggling for game time as it is.
Thus, we would be smart to secure Dest’s signature this month, if possible, and a move for Dembele can perhaps wait for the time being, looking at our current situation.
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