Why Jeremy Sarmiento snubbed Birmingham City to join Middlesbrough | OneFootball

The 23-year-old arrived at the Riverside in January on loan from Brighton

Ecuadorian international Jeremy Sarmiento was on the move to the Championship once again this January, ultimately joining Middlesbrough late in the window.

The Brighton and Hove Albion wideman had been part of promoted sides into the Premier League in the last two seasons at Ipswich Town and Burnley, but the Seagulls weren't ready to give him a crack in the top flight.

After a failed loan switch to Serie A side Cremonese in the first half of the campaign, where he made just seven appearances in the Italian top flight, he was relocated back to the English second-tier.

Birmingham City were reportedly leading the race to bring Sarmiento in, as Chris Davies' side were looking to bolster their wide areas to mount a promotion charge in the second half of the campaign, but Middlesbrough hijacked the deal, and the 23-year-old ended up making the switch to the Riverside instead.

Why Jeremy Sarmiento chose Middlesbrough over Birmingham City

Speaking to Teeside Live, Sarmiento has revealed why he chose to join Middlesbrough in the January window, and it has a lot to do with the man in the dugout at the Riverside, Kim Hellberg.

"As you guys have seen and as was reported in the media, there were other teams interested, but Middlesbrough was the place I wanted to go," he said.

"I spoke to Brighton and made that very clear. The playing style suits me. I like to play as a 10 or sometimes come off the wing. I'm enjoying my football in this position. It works well. Kim has given me the confidence to do what I do well, as a player, that's all you want.

"I've had some loan spells at Championship clubs, and I've played against Middlesbrough. They've always played good, attractive football. It was always appealing to me.

"I spoke to the boss, he laid it out for me, and it felt like the right place. As a player, you want to push for big things, and Middlesbrough are certainly doing that. We want to get promoted, that's the big objective."

Sarmiento has spent a lot of the last two years bouncing around different clubs. He's made just two appearances at the Amex since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, and he's spent time on loan at five other teams.

The 23-year-old is hoping to find a permanent home sooner rather than later, and an opportunity to feature prominently in the Premier League off the back of, ideally, three consecutive promotions out of the Championship.

Jeremy Sarmiento will be a big part of Middlesbrough's promotion run-in

Given Kim Hellberg's high-octane, demanding style of play, it's often difficult for players to adapt to it when they join midway through the campaign.

Sarmiento has appeared in every Championship game since he arrived at the Riverside, so whether he's starting or as an impact sub, you can expect that the Ecuadorian will play a big part in the battle to preserve their place in the top two.

The 23-year-old is very likely to make a permanent switch to Middlesbrough at the end of this season, due to the terms of his loan deal, according to the Teeside Live report, so you'd imagine that there'd be added impetus to replicate some of the big moments he produced at Ipswich and Burnley in the last two years to ensure he gets a chance in the top-flight.

The majority of Sarmiento's Premier League appearances came under the watchful eye of Roberto De Zerbi, whom the 23-year-old likens to Kim Hellberg, due to "the way he wants his number 10s to get on the ball as much as possible and attract players and play between pockets and lines."

The Brighton loanee will be hoping that he can showcase that in the Premier League in a more prominent role for his current club than he was able to at the Amex Stadium in the infancy of his career.