Sergino Dest (L) in action against Chelsea in the Champions League (Getty Images)
According to Football.London, Ajax right-back Sergino Dest is a summer transfer target for Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
The 19-year-old full-back has enjoyed a breakthrough season with the Dutch giants, making 35 appearances in total across all competitions. The young Dest has also impressed with two goals and six assists this season, establishing himself as the side’s first-choice right-back.
Despite still being in teens, Dest has impressed manager Erik ten Hag, that has seen him hand first-team action to the Dutch-born US international. He featured in 20 of their 25 league games and has made five Champions League appearances, speaking volumes about his talent and potential.
Dest is a graduate of the famed Ajax academy that has offered Tottenham several talents like Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen over the years.
Though playmaker Eriksen has left the North London side, Alderweireld and Vertonghen still play for the side and remain one of the first names on the team sheet.
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham are in need of a new right-back, with the area turning out to be a problem position for Spurs this season. The departure of Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid had opened the doors for Serge Aurier, who until then had failed to nail down a regular spot despite arriving from PSG in 2017.
Aurier eventually became the side’s first-choice right-back, making 24 appearances, scoring once and assisting four times in the league this season. However, he has been inconsistent.
The Ivorian is prone to errors and that was evident during Spurs’ campaign earlier in the season that saw them slip down the rankings. Also, defensively, a back-line involving Aurier has been struggling throughout the season. They have conceded 40 goals from 29 league games.
Though Mourinho has helped Spurs climb back to 8th place in the league table, they alongside Burnley remain the side with the weakest defence among the top-ten clubs. None of the other top-ten teams have conceded more goals. This indicates that the Spurs need new defensive reinforcements.
Spurs also had young right-back Kyle Walker-Peters as a back-up. However, Mourinho sent him on loan to Southampton in January. This shows that he clearly wasn’t involved in the Portuguese’s plans.
Walker-Peters is expected to make a return to the side this summer after the end of his loan spell but with the youngster yet to impress Mourinho, his future at the club remains more of a question mark.
It is clear that Tottenham need an established right-back in their side. Hence, the North London club should up their interest in the Ajax youngster and land him soon.
With Tottenham having underperformed at the back so far this season, there is no question that the side needs new faces. Moreover, Dest’s arrival will only do a world of good for Tottenham, with manager Mourinho clearly unimpressed by the set of right-backs in the side. He is still young and could go on to become a future star for the club if a move happens.
