Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jeremy Sarmiento has been on loan at Middlesbrough since January. His future beyond this season is likely to be away from the Championship side.
The Ecuador international joined Brighton from Benfica in July 2021 and has struggled for a prominent role. To put it in context, he’s played 568 minutes from 21 matches, managing a goal and two assists.
Brighton sent him on loan to West Bromwich Albion, Ipswich Town, Burnley, Cremonese and Middlesbrough.
At West Brom, the winger scored two goals from 21 matches and managed four goals and two assists from 22 matches for Ipswich Town.
He played more at Burnley when compared to the two Championship sides, playing 1,305 minutes from 37 matches. managing four goals. Last summer, Brighton let him join the Serie A on a season-long loan deal.
However, the 23-year-old struggled at Cremonese, forcing Brighton to cut short his stay and send him on loan to Middlesbrough.
Sarmiento failed to score or assist from 143 minutes from seven matches for Cremonese. He hasn’t opened his account yet with Boro after 203 minutes from eight matches. This includes only one league start.
Below is the table of the comparison of statistics at Middlesbrough and Cremonese per game. The first figure is for Boro and the second is for the Italian club
- Expected Goals [xG]: 0.60 – 0.08
- Expected Assists: 0.26 – 0.16
- Shorts on target: 0.1 0 – 0.3
- Crosses: 0.3 – 0.1
- Successful dribbles: 36.4% – 62.4%
- Ground duels won: 1.3[40%] – 1.7[57.1%]
- Possession lost: 4.8 – 3.4
Middlesbrough unlikely to buy
Sarmiento has had a poor start with Kim Hellberg’s side, who have an option to buy. Bolvaip report Middlesbrough are unlikely to make his stay at the Riverside Stadium permanent.
Everything indicates he’ll return to The Amex, and Fabian Hürzeler’s side have to make a decision on his future.
Prior to his loan to Boro, Sport Witness relayed news that South American clubs, including Liga de Quito, tried to sign him. However, he wanted to continue in Europe.
With Middlesbrough unlikely to retain the attacker, Liga de Quito could make a ‘significant effort’ to sign him in the summer. However, this would only be possible if Brighton lower their price.
There’s no mention of what the Ecuadorian cub are willing to offer or if Sarmiento is open to joining them. There should be more clarity on his future in the coming weeks.
Why Seagulls must find permanent solution
If Middlesbrough decide against retain the player, he has to return to the Premier League side.
His contract with the Premier League side runs down in 2027 and Transfermarkt value him at €5m. It could drop further if he continues to struggle under Hellberg until the end of this season.
Brighton are unlikely to offer an extension. Without this, the next window will be their last chance to earn a fee and to avoid losing Sarmiento as a free agent in 2027.
Therefore, the Seagulls have to find a club that will sign him permanent after this season. Whether that’ll be Liga de Quito or another team remains to be seen.
