West Ham Targeting “Spectacularly Good” ?102k-p/w Titan
West Ham United are reportedly interested in signing Barcelona full-back Sergino Dest this summer and the USA international could be a big upgrade on Vladimir Coufal in David Moyes‘ squad.
Could West Ham sign Sergino Dest?
According to Spanish publication Sport, both West Ham and Crystal Palace are keen to bring the right-back to the Premier League this summer, with the Catalan club likely to accept offers of around EUR12m (GBP11m), which could make the 22-year-old a potential bargain for the Hammers. Dest, who earns GBP102k-per-week at Barcelona, has spent the season on loan with AC Milan but has struggled for form, and the Serie A giants have already confirmed that they will not be exercising their buy option, which suggests that he will be on his way out of the Nou Camp at the end of the season.
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Barcelona signed the defender from Ajax in 2020 and he has gone on to make 72 appearances for the La Liga side, contributing two goals and three assists, before losing his place under Xavi and being sent on loan to the Rossoneri last summer. Although he has mustered just two starts in the league for Stefano Pioli’s side this season, he could still be an excellent signing for the Hammers if he could rediscover the form that he showed at the Nou Camp in the 2021/22 campaign.
After a 4-1 win against Valencia in February 2022, the legendary Xavi would sing the praises of Dest and his vast improvement in a Barcelona shirt. He said: “Let’s take Sergino as an example. When we got here, he wasn’t doing so well, but now he is doing great.
I thought he was spectacularly good [against Valencia], both with the ball and without it. I am really happy with his progress.”
Would Dest be an upgrade on Coufal at West Ham?
After a promising start to life at West Ham, Coufal has sadly been one of several players to massively regress under Moyes this season, averaging a shocking 6.53 rating from WhoScored across his 18 appearances in the Premier League.
The Czech Republic international, who is now 30, looks a far cry from the player that first arrived at the London Stadium in 2020, when he notched seven assists in 34 top-flight outings, averaging an impressive 6.95 rating. If we compare Coufal’s performances from this season with Dest’s from last season, the American looks a far more assuring and well-rounded asset.
Indeed, he was dribbled past on fewer occasions (0.2 vs 0.5), had more attempts at the opposition goal (0.6 vs 0.3) and completed far more dribbles per game (1.8 vs 0.1) than the Hammers defender.
Therefore, considering he is eight years younger than Coufal and could arrive for a fairly cheap fee, Moyes should definitely consider replacing the former Slavia Prague man with Dest this summer.
