Middlesbrough ‘Very, Very Close’ On Birmingham City Target | OneFootball

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Middlesbrough are ‘very, very close’ to completing their hijack of Brighton’s Jeremy Sarmiento, who looked to be on his way to Championship rivals Birmingham City.

Blues have been very ambitious since their relegation to League One in the 2023/24 season, when they finished 22nd in the Championship table.

They broke records in League One last season and are determined to win promotion up to the Premier League soon.

Birmingham are five points below the playoff spots, following their 2-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night.

Some big-money players were brought in the summer window and they are continuing that trend this month.

Jhon Solis, Kai Wagner, August Priske and Ibrahim Osman have been brought in from all around the globe to bolster multiple areas of the pitch.

They have been keen on Brighton winger Sarmiento, for whom they even reached an agreement earlier this week.

It looked like they would win the race for the Ecuadorian’s signature, but today, things have taken a completely different turn as Middlesbrough have pushed themselves to the front of the queue.

According to Italian journalist Raffaele Amato, Boro are ‘very, very close’ to completing the capture of Sarmiento, beating Birmingham to him.

The 23-year-old versatile attacker is expected to cost around £3.5m from Brighton, who are open to letting him go permanently.

In the summer window, he was sent to Serie A club Cremonese, where he barely played, and is now all set to come back to England.

Sarmiento had loan spells with West Brom, Ipswich Town and Burnley in the Championship from the Seagulls, and now he is closing in on a permanent move to the second tier.