Chelsea are reportedly ready to reignite their interest in Barcelona defender Sergino Dest.
With a takeover of the club having now been completed, the Premier League club are expected to make numerous signings and sales during the summer transfer window.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel has already acknowledged that Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger will be departing on free transfers, and other defenders are expected to follow.
Cesar Azpilicueta is said to be open to taking a new challenge at Barcelona, the Catalan giants also making a play to sign left wing-back Marcos Alonso.
However, for those latter deals to materialise at a time when they also want to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves and Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona must make an array of sales as soon as possible.
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Club officials would allegedly prefer to offload Dest at some stage this summer, the 21-year-old regarded as a player who can bring in a substantial transfer fee in comparison to other fringe players.
Since moving to Camp Nou in October 2020, the United States international has made 72 appearances in all competitions with 40 starts coming in La Liga.
As it stands, it appears that Dest would prefer to continue his career at Barcelona, the suggestion being that he wants to fight for his spot in Xavi's plans.
Nevertheless, according to the Daily Mail, Chelsea plan to make a formal approach for the versatile wideman over the coming weeks as they bid to find alternatives to their likely outgoing wing-backs.
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The report claims that Tuchel is a big admirer of Dest's versatility, the player theoretically representing a perfect addition to his current crop of players.
While Dest's trademark positions are right-back and right wing-back, he is capable of playing as a right winger and on the opposite flank in a defensive-minded role.
Should Azpilicueta and Alonso depart Stamford Bridge this summer, Chelsea will be left with Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Emerson Palmieri as their only recognised options at wing-back.
A potential stumbling block for Chelsea is Dest's contract still having three years left to run, more so for the player being in no rush to leave rather than not being able to negotiate a fee with Barcelona.
While Bayern Munich have also been heavily linked with Dest, they will no longer pursue a deal having agreed to sign Noussair Mazraoui on a free transfer in July.
Darren Plant
