How would Sergino Dest look at Austin FC?

It's probably not going to happen anytime soon, if at all. But it's fun to think about, depending on your definition of fun.

In the opening stages of Thursday’s U.S. men’s national team match at Q2 Stadium — eventually a 3-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago — my eye was drawn to Sergiño Dest, the Dutch-turned-American fullback currently plying his trade at PSV Eindhoven after testing himself at Barcelona. After about 10 minutes of watching his on-the-ball movement and his range of passes into the box, I had a thought which has since consumed me.

“Josh Wolff would really enjoy having Sergiño Dest at Austin FC.”

Let’s preface this by saying, due to Dest’s contract situation and where he’s at in his development, it’s not all that likely. Back in 2020, Dest said he’s interested in playing in MLS — but not until much later in his career.

More recently, reports floated around that several MLS clubs approached Barcelona about acquiring Dest’s services; that led to Dest allegedly saying “no can do” and the Catalan club finding him a home (on loan) with fellow Americans Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman at PSV.

Dest is one of the more intriguing USMNT players (USMNT/Twitter)

But under the premise of “it’s fun to think about,” and to use him as a case study to talk about the current Verde fullbacks, let’s looks at what Dest does.