Cremonese return flop Sarmiento to Brighton, then off to Middlesbrough

Cremonese flop Jeremy Sarmiento had been due to join Birmingham City, but is now reportedly heading to Middlesbrough after the loan from Brighton.

The 23-year-old attacking midfielder was snapped up by newly-promoted Cremonese on transfer deadline day in September 2025, on what was meant to be a one-season loan from Brighton and Hove Albion.

However, he made just seven Serie A appearances for the Grigiorossi, for a grand total of just 137 minutes of football on the pitch.

The most recent game he featured in was November 7 against Pisa, after which he was either on the bench or simply not called up at all.

An agreement had seemingly been reached for Cremonese to return him to Brighton, after which he would go to Birmingham City.

However, that stalled over the last 24 hours with reports Birmingham had tried to change the payment terms.

Instead, Tuttomercatoweb claim that Middlesbrough have stepped in and are on the verge of securing a deal to buy Sarmiento on a permanent basis.