Sergino Dest is looking forward to teaming up with Christian Pulisic with the U.S. men's national team, saying the Stamford Bridge star can be "almost unstoppable" when on form.
Both Dest and Pulisic were called into the USMNT roster for the team's matches against Wales and Panama this international break.
Pulisic, though, may not be ready to play with U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter calling him "day to day" after his recent hamstring injury with Chelsea.
Dest has only played with Pulisic once with the USMNT, as the Chelsea attacker and Barcelona full-back both saw the field in a 3-0 defeat to Mexico in September 2019.
Along with players like Dortmund teenager Giovanni Reyna, Dest and Pulisic are expected to lead the USMNT to on-field success in the future after the country's shocking failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Dest is relishing the chance to link up with Reyna and Pulisic as U.S. fans dream of a bright future with the trio, along with young stars like Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams.
"I haven't met Gio Reyna, so I don't know him as a person, but I played with Pulisic," Dest told ESPN. "He's a really good player, they're both really good players. I hope they keep working and we can reach something nice in the coming years.
"Pulisic is a really great player, he's fast, [and] really good at dribbling. I saw in the first couple of [U.S.] training sessions before I made my debut against Mexico, he was so good, you know, in the training. I had some recovery sessions so I was just looking at the training, but he was almost unstoppable.
"And then in the games you see it, he plays really well. Hopefully we can get a good connection on the field and can play with each other really well."
Dest believes the U.S. can achieve big things with their young core, which also includes his Barcelona team-mate Konrad de la Fuente and Bayern Munich defender Chris Richards.
"These guys are growing, they're coming," Dest added. "They're close to reaching the senior team and Konrad [has just had his first senior call-up]. There's also Chris Richards at Bayern Munich. Hopefully everyone will keep working hard. I think we will have a really good team in the future."
Dest was born in the Netherlands but opted to play for the USMNT after representing the U.S. at various youth levels. The full-back said he is happy with his choice, which he made in part to reward the U.S. for identifying and sticking with him as a youth player.
"When I had to choose between the Netherlands and the U.S. I had that in the back of my mind: 'OK, [I have] two options, but what are the advantages in Holland and advantages in the U.S.?'
"In the U.S. [there is] more for me and I played my whole youth in the U.S., so it was also a little bit of loyalty. I made a good choice and hopefully I can get big in the U.S."
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