According to the Mail Online, in an article written by reporter Jack Kinnersley, Barcelona are “on the verge” of landing young Ajax right-back Sergino Dest after they decided on going in to the Dutch side with a formal offer for the 19-year-old.
The Catalan giants have made an offer of an initial £18m for the Dutch-born American international. This bid, which comes after there were thoughts that they were behind German giants Bayern Munich in the race for the 3-cap USMT international, comes after Norwich rebuffed Barca’s attempts to land Max Aarons.
Norwich’s rebuff of Barca’s interest in Aarons came about after Barcelona only wanted a loan for the youngster with an option to purchase rather than the obligation to buy that Norwich were looking for. There had been fruitful talks between the Spanish side and Aarons’ representatives with some saying personal terms had been agreed upon.
20-year-old, London-born Aarons made his breakthrough at Carrow Road with a leap from the Under-18s to Under-23s in 2017 and, a year later, to the first-team picture. Since then he has been a regular for the Norfolk club, in both the Sky Bet Championship and the Premier League.
Aarons has gone on to feature in 85 games for Norwich City since his breakthrough to the big time, 36 of those coming in last season’s Premier League campaign where he turned a few heads and caught a few eyes. His Sky Bet Championship season in 2018/19 saw him feature in 41 games, scoring 2 goals and providing 6 assists.
However, there is a glimmer of hope for Aarons that he may be on the way to a big club, despite Barcelona’s apparent decision on Dest. Sky Sports reported Saturday evening that AC Milan and Roma were involved in a two-way, Serie A arm wrestle for the Canaries 20-year-old.
Sky Sports’ article says that “both Italian clubs intend to submit a bid to Norwich” in an attempt to land the 20-year-old “in the near future.” This would likely indicate that the youngster could be on the move and away from the Sky Bet Championship before the current transfer window closes in early October.
