Barcelona are reportedly considering terminating Sergino Dest's contract, with the Catalan outfit struggling to find a buyer for the United States international.
The 22-year-old is back at Camp Nou this summer following an unsuccessful loan spell at AC Milan last season.
Dest only featured on 14 occasions for Milan during the 2022-23 campaign, with just eight of those appearances coming in Serie A, and the Italian outfit turned down the chance to sign him permanently.
The American has another two years left to run on his contract at Barcelona, but he is not in the plans of the Catalan outfit's head coach Xavi.
Dest played the final 15 minutes of Saturday's El Clasico, which Barcelona won 3-0, but it is thought to be unlikely that he will still be at the club beyond the end of the summer transfer window.
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According to journalist Javi Miguel, Xavi's team are finding it difficult to find a buyer for Dest, who is on a big contract at Camp Nou.
As a result, the La Liga champions are said to be considering terminating his deal, as removing his wages would make room in the budget for another signing to arrive.
There is believed to be some loan interest in the defender, although Barcelona would insist that a mandatory purchase option was included in any deal.
Dest made the move to Camp Nou from Ajax in the summer of 2020, and he has represented the Catalan side on 72 occasions in all competitions.
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The American was a regular in his first season at Barcelona, featuring on 41 occasions in all competitions, while he played 31 times during the 2021-22 campaign.
Dest is currently the only specialist right-back in the first-team squad at Camp Nou, with centre-backs Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde largely sharing that position last term.
Barcelona are expected to sign a right-back before the end of the summer window, but they are working to a strict budget due to their financial problems.
Xavi's team will continue their preparations for the new season with a friendly against AC Milan on Tuesday night before taking on Tottenham Hotspur in the Joan Gamper Trophy final on August 8.
Matt Law
