© Breaking The Lines 2017-2021. All Rights Reserved.

Sergiño Dest Finding his Footing at PSV Eindhoven

March 18, 2024
Player Analysis, Eredivisie Analysis

Name: Sergiño Dest 

Club: PSV 

Nationality: American 

Position: Defender – Full Back 

Preferred Foot: 

Height: 5’7”/170cm 

Age: 23 

 

In what can be best described as a remarkable turnaround for American youngster Sergiño Dest who plays as a right back for PSV and has established himself as a fundamental piece in the PSV team setup under manager Peter Bosz, Dest joined the Eredivisie League leaders on a season-long loan from Spanish giants Barcelona last summer reuniting with fellow USMNT players Malik Tilman, who is on loan from German champions Bayern Munich, and Ricardo Pepi joining in from Bundesliga side Augsburg. 

 

 

Dest was born in Almere, Netherlands to a Surinamese-American father and a Dutch mother, making him eligible to play for the Netherlands, but he chose to represent the United States. After featuring in the United States’ U17 and U20 teams, he ultimately earned his maiden call-up to the United States senior national team in 2019, rejecting a late advance for the Netherlands national team.

 

He began his footballing career at Almere City FC’s youth academy in 2009 before making a move to Ajax youth academy in 2012, A versatile player who started as a forward before transitioning to the full-back position, he can play on either flank but has proven to be much more comfortable playing on the right.

 

Dest became the first American to play for Barcelona after making a move to Camp Nou back in 2020 from Ajax but failed to impress and struggled to prove himself under Xavi Hernández at Barcelona and was eventually loaned out to Serie A heavyweights AC Milan for the 2022-23 season on transfer deadline day in the summer of 2022 with an option to make the move permanent but that didn’t materialize as he once again struggled to maintain his form which resulted in him dropping down the pecking order of Milan’s head coach Stefano Pioli at right-back and featuring in only 8 Serie A games all season for Milan.

 

However, Dest’s return to the Netherlands for the 2023-24 season has been resulted in an upturn in performances as the American international continues in excellent form for PSV, reinventing himself and enjoying enough playing time under Peter Bosz. Dest offers so much across the pitch due to his versatility and flexibility in utilising his pace.

 

 

His goal against Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie MD25 is indicative of Dest’s potential and innate abilities, taking on and dribbling past three defenders before placing a beautiful curling finish to beat goalkeeper Jeffrey De Lange, taking his goals contribution to 7 with 2 goals and 5 assists in the Eredivisie for PSV.

 

Peter Bosz appears to have created the right ambiance for Dest to fully utilise his potential and thrive at PSV. This has been reflected in his overall improvement at PSV with the American manifesting his superb ball control ability. He doesn’t shy away from having possession of the ball and is always looking to drive the ball forward with ample vitality in the final third. 

 

A close look at Dest’s stats in the Eredivisie shows that he has made a total of 873 passes, completing 793 passes with a pass completion rate of 90.84%, and passing the ball 46.88 times per 90 minutes. He makes 1.50 key passes per 90 minutes and his xA(Expected Assists output) stands at 0.30 per 90 minutes. Dest is cruising to a first league title of his career with PSV who remain unbeaten in the league with 69 points in 25 games and are currently 9 points clear at the top of the Eredivisie table. 

 

After failing to impress at Camp Nou and San Siro, Dest is back in his native Netherlands and excelling in defense at Philips Stadion, and it seems a matter of when, not if, PSV decide to make the move permanent. However, with Dest’s contract at Barcelona set to expire in 2025, PSV will be looking to haggle with Barcelona and reduce their €10 million purchase option as they look to tie down Dest to a long-term deal.

 

By: Ogenyi Paul / @234programmer

Featured Image: @GabFoligno / DeFodi Images

EmailLinkedIn