Barcelona fans verdict on Sergino Dest: ‘Xavi should give him more time’ | OneFootball

Icon: Barca Universal

Barca Universal

·14 January 2022

Barcelona fans verdict on Sergino Dest: ‘Xavi should give him more time’

Article image:Barcelona fans verdict on Sergino Dest: ‘Xavi should give him more time’

When appointed the manager of FC Barcelona, one of the first things Xavi said in his press conferences was that this was the chance for all players to begin with a clean slate. The good, the bad, the ugly, the great will start from the same plane and will have to earn their spot in the starting XI.

And he has, for the most part, lived up to his words. Riqui Puig is getting more minutes than he ever did in 1.5 seasons under Ronald Koeman, while Memphis Depay has had to settle with a second-fiddle role. Even Luuk de Jong continues to get a fair run of games, with three goals in three starts.


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Sergino Dest, on the other hand, has not been given that chance. Or so Barcelona fans think. After all, what happens in training sessions stays in training sessions.

According to a poll done by us at Barça Universal on Twitter asking whether Dest should be given more chances by Xavi, an overwhelming majority of 73% (6238 out of 8,545) of voters thought that he should.

The American has played 12 games in the league this season, out of which just one has come under Xavi. Taking his Champions League minutes into account, he has played just 144 minutes since the change of guard.

The surprising thing is, Dest was having a pretty impressive campaign under Koeman; at least from a statistical standpoint. He had given three assists in 12 games, created five big chances, and averaged 1.4 chances created per game.

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Xavi, meanwhile, seems to have his heart set on using 38-year-old Dani Alves as the team’s starting right-back. While still quality – which was visible in his first two games – the Brazilian lacks the pace to compete with the best wingers in the world.

Currently, Dest is linked with an exit, with Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the race. Losing him after such a solid start to the season will probably be a huge blow for Barcelona.

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