USA U-20 Standout Sergino Dest Signs Pro Contract With Ajax
Another U.S. national team prospect has secured his professional future in Europe.
Sergiño Dest, a U.S. Under-20 national team standout, has signed his first pro contract with Ajax, inking a deal through 2021, the club announced on Monday.
Dest, an 18-year-old right back, was part of the U.S. U-20 team that won the Concacaf championship last month and secured a berth in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He's been a fixture for Ajax's youth teams and has been part of the club's academy since 2012. Dest, who was born in Almere, Netherlands, to an American father and Dutch mother, played for the U.S. at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, featuring for the side that reached the quarterfinals in India.
His contract with Ajax, which has secured its place in the Champions League knockout stage and is contending to win the Eredivisie, begins on January 1, 2019, and runs for the next two-and-a-half years. It puts him in position to join the likes of Josh Sargent and Haji Wright as young Americans earning their first-team debuts in Europe this season.
Ajax will look to top its Champions League group on Tuesday when it hosts Bayern Munich knowing a win will vault the club into first.
