USMNT Defender & Rising Star Sergino Dest Leaves Ajax To Sign 5-Year Contract At Barcelona

 

    It wasn't that long ago that a USMNT player going to Europe to compete for any half decent club-let alone one of the great powerhouses-was big news. 2020 has been a nightmare in basically every way possible but at least thanks to social media and cable TV packages, we are able to watch the best American players compete every week throughout Europe and far away from the mediocrity and utterly boring nature of MLS. Following in the footsteps of Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Tyler Adams (Red Bull Leipzig), Gio Reyna (Dortmund), Weston McKennie (Juventus) and Chris Richards (Bayern Munich) among many others, today fullback Sergino Dest agreed to a five-year deal with Barcelona.

    I can't pretend that I know all that much about Dest in terms of seeing him compete that often. Ajax matches are hard to find unless they are deep into the Champions League and as we all know, the USMNT has barely had any games this year due to the global pandemic. However, reading about him from many trusted soccer writers around the globe, it sounds like there is much to be excited about for this 19-year-old who grew up in the Netherlands but chose to represent the USMNT rather than the Dutch. Take that Arjen Robben! 

      The rumors started to creep up last week that he was choosing between Barcelona and Bayern Munich for his next destination. What a life, huh? Unless you've been paying close attention this year, you'd probably be surprised to hear that Bayern is actually a notch above Barca at the moment. With yesterday's German Super Cup win over Borussia Dortmund, that gave Bayern five (!) trophies this year. Additionally, their roster is more loaded than Barcelona's. Of course this is not to say that Barcelona is merely a consolation prize. Any chance to count one of the best players in soccer history as a teammate-a still in-his-prime Lionel Messi-you jump at that opportunity.  

    Barcelona has turned some of its aging roster (adios Luis Suarez and Arutro Vidal) over since watching its chief rival Real Madrid win La Liga earlier this summer and then getting absolutely destroyed 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals. Ajax used to be one of the top clubs in the world and they've started to regain some of that notoriety in the last few years thanks to an incredible development program. Dest is a shining example of what they do in Amsterdam (besides smoke a ton of weed and ride bicycles like they're going out of style): he played in 35 matches with 27 starts for Ajax last season, adding two goals and six assists.

    Barcelona's new manager Ronald Koeman is from Holland as well so that shouldn't hurt Dest's chances of getting on the field soon for Barcelona. Even if it takes some time to be featured frequently by Koeman, he will be getting incredibly valuable experience training every day alongside stars like goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, defenders Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba, midfielders Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong (his old Ajax teammate) and Philippe Coutinho along with forwards like Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele. 

    Despite the last few years being a bit of a mess (by their impossibly high standards), Barcelona's trophy case is still overflowing. This is a team that's won 30 Copa Del Rey trophies, 26 La Liga titles, five Champions League trophies and three FIFA Club World Cup trophies. Dest is obviously not afraid of personal challenges and heading to Spain is a logical next stop for a guy who has tantalizing potential. As if you needed any additional reasons to watch Barcelona matches (other than Messi doing his usual wizardry and Ray Hudson's glorious commentary on beIN Sports), here it is. Let's also hope that the USMNT can get back on the field someday soon because for once, their roster is going to be loaded with legitimate talent not just the usual MLS heroes.

Tweet

Follow @RichSlate 

Ajax coach Martin Jol is out; Newcastle lets Chris Hughton go, wait what?

Big doings today in the coaching ranks of European soccer.

Ajax's coach Martin Jol resigned and Newcastle got rid of its coach Chris Hughton.

What makes this story even more interesting and connected is the rumor that Jol might be next in line at Newcastle.

Newcastle took the shock decision to axe Chris Hughton on Monday afternoon, citing a desire to bring in a manager with greater experience. Peter Beardsley has been placed in temporary charge while the club seek out a successor and a host of names including Martin O'Neill and Alan Pardew have been linked with the role.

Jol was prominent in a number of bookmakers' lists for the position and he would now appear free to discuss his future with any club after tendering his resignation at the Amsterdam Arena.

Ajax announced on their website that former Holland defender Frank de Boer would take temporary charge until the winter break, while Jol claimed the criticism the club have got for their stuttering form has caused unrest in the squad.

The former Hamburg and Tottenham boss told the club's official website: ''With pain in my heart I say goodbye to this wonderful club.'We started something last summer that I would have finished. But I have come to realise that the expectations after last season were too high.

''We cannot meet such expectations. The amount of criticism that the club has had to endure daily has led to unrest in the club and among players.

''I take this decision consciously before AC Milan v Ajax (in the Champions League) is played (on Wednesday).

''The coming weeks are very important and I sincerely hope that something happens in the squad to make it in the short term a winning team.''

The Amsterdammers finished second in the league last term, a point behind FC Twente, scoring 106 goals and with a staggering goal difference of plus 86. They have struggled to repeat their end-of-season form in the early part of this campaign, though.

While Jol's removal was somewhat understandable, Hughton's seemed unexplainable, especially to his players.

Sol Campbell, who made his 500th Premier League appearance this weekend, told ESPNsoccernet: "Chris is such a lovely guy. Top man. This will hit the players hard. The players admired him, and liked him, and won't be happy now he's gone like this."

The former England, Arsenal and Tottenham centre-back added: "You have got to ask yourself why this has happened because it makes no sense. Here is a guy who has done an unbelievable job. He got the club back into the Premier league and any manager would have been rewarded for that with a new contract - but Chris wasn't.

"The players are sure to be asking themselves 'what the hell is going on?', that is only natural.

"We all had a good relationship with the players, and when we left training this morning none of the players had a clue this was coming.

"But word started to spread that the bookies had stopped taking bets and the players started texting each other with the news.

"Yes, it has come as a shock, and it will affect the dressing room there is no doubt about that."

Stay tuned to see what shakes out with both of these high-profile teams in the near future.