Jeremy Sarmiento completed a move from Benfica U19s to Brighton on July 2, 2021.
The Ecuadorian made quite a few appearances for the first team over three seasons.
And he impressed many supporters with his promising performances.
The 22-year-old has since been on multiple loan moves and this summer could be his last chance to secure a place in the squad.
If he stays with the club next season, what will he bring? And where will he fit in?
VAVEL explores all here.
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Club Career
Sarmiento started his youth career with Charlton Athletic in 2009, when he would have been aged six or seven.
His first appearances for the club came in the 2017/18 season.
He played two games for the U18s in the FA Youth Cup at the age of 15.
He played 21 minutes in a 3-1 win against QPR U18s and 76 minutes in a 4-3 extra time defeat to Reading U18s.
The following season, he did not make a single club appearance.
On October 4, 2018, he left Charlton to join SL Benfica's youth system.
His first season with the Portuguese side was 2019/20.
He made eight appearances for the U23s, scoring one goal in 284 minutes of football.
His goal was scored against CD Aves.
He also played 17 minutes in a UEFA Youth League game for Benfica's U19 UEFA team.
Once again, he made no club appearances the following season.
So, in the summer of 2021, he moved back to England to sign for Brighton.
Sarmiento had a relatively standard first season with the club.
He picked up minutes for the first team and the U23s.
The Ecuadorian made six appearances in the Premier League 2, scoring one goal in 247 minutes of football.
And he played 68 minutes in an EFL Trophy game against Walsall.
His goal came in a 2-1 victory over Leicester City U21s.
He also played 135 games for the senior side across five Premier League games and two EFL Cup games.
The Madrid-born attacker stayed with Brighton for the 2022/23 campaign.
However, this time he only made one appearance for the U21s.
He played 13 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool's U21s.
Across the season, he made one EFL Cup appearance, two FA Cup appearances, and nine Premier League appearances.
In total, he played 346 minutes of football for the first team and picked up two assists.
One of these came in the EFL Cup in a 3-1 victory against Arsenal and the other was a cross for a last-gasp winner against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Unfortunately, large parts of his season were hampered by injuries.
He missed the beginning of the season due to a knee injury, and he missed the end of the season due to a metatarsal fracture.
The 2023/24 season arrived and Sarmiento was at a stage where minutes were crucial for his development.
So, on July 25, 2023, he was loaned to West Bromwich Albion.
He spent the first five months of the season with the Baggies, playing 737 minutes across 21 games.
16 of those minutes came in the EFL Cup and the rest were in the Championship.
In his 20 league games for West Brom, he scored two goals; one against Middlesbrough and another against Cardiff.
At the turn of the year, the decision was made to recall him and sent him elsewhere.
On January 3, 2024, he returned to the Championship, but this time in the blue of Ipswich Town.
His second half of the season was pretty similar to his first.
He played 102 minutes across two FA Cup games and 631 minutes across 20 Championship games.
In total, he scored four goals and provided two assists.
One of his goals came in a memorable 2-1 FA Cup loss to National League South side Maidstone.
He scored his league goals against Leicester, Birmingham, and Southampton.
His goal against Southampton was a last-minute winner that all-but secured Ipswich's promotion.
His assists were against Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday.
Sarmiento returned to Brighton for the 2024/25 pre-season and was given a chance to impress new boss Fabian Hürzeler.
He scored in the Seagulls' opening pre-season fixture against Tokyo Verdy.
The Ecuadorian started the season with Brighton, playing eight minutes in the first league game against Everton.
He also played 79 minutes in the EFL Cup against Crawley Town and scored.
He impressed supporters in his 87 minutes, and many believed he should stay with the squad this season.
However, on August 30, 2024, he was loaned back to the Championship once again.
He signed for Scott Parker's Burnley.
So far this season, he has made one FA Cup appearance and 25 Championship appearances.
In total, he has played 1,116 minutes of football and scored two goals; one against Portsmouth and the other against Coventry City.
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International Career
Interestingly, Sarmiento was born in Spain and has received 38 international caps for two different countries.
But neither of those countries are Spain.
In fact, he started his international career with England.
He made his England U16 debut on December 1, 2017, at the age of 15 years, five months, and 15 days.
He received three caps and was called up by current Everton Development Coach Dan Micciche.
Just under a year later, he was called up to the U17s by Steve Cooper.
He made his England U17 debut on September 7, 2018, at the age of 16 years, two months, and 22 days.
He played five games and scored two goals for this age group.
He scored a brace in a 6-0 thrashing of Norway U16s.
Just over a year later he was called up to the U18s.
He made his England U18 debut on October 11, 2019, at the age of 17 years, three months, and 25 days.
He made six appearances and scored one goal, which was against Austria.
Sarmiento did not make another international appearance until 2021, when he decided to switch his allegiance to Ecuador.
So far, it seems to be a wise decision.
He made his senior Ecuador debut on October 8, 2021, at the age of 19 years, three months, and 22 days.
The 22-year-old has played 24 games for Ecuador and scored two goals.
His first goal came in a friendly against Honduras and his second in the 2024 Copa América against Venezuela.
He has also made three World Cup appearances.
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What does he bring to Brighton?
Sarmiento fits the mould of the type of players that Tony Bloom likes to bring to the club.
He is a versatile attacker and midfielder with a lot of potential.
In terms of style and profile, he is similar to the likes of Chelsea's Jadon Sancho, Liverpool's Luis Días, and Watford's Rocco Vata.
The Ecuadorian is a natural dribbler and creative player, and his general attributes show why this is the case.
He is 5'10" and weighs 73KG.
The combination of these two characteristics gives him a low centre of gravity that allows him to shift quickly and move past defenders.
He is naturally right-footed, but is strong on his left too.
His attributes also show why he is a brilliant creative player.
His dribbling is fantastic, he has brilliant agility, great technique and ball control, strong balance, and acceleration.
His ball striking is also top-quality.
He also works hard and contributes defensively; something that is important to Brighton's system.
Sarmiento's only weaknesses is his decision-making, but that is something that comes with age.
Brighton fans have seen what he can do and what he can offer, but he needs to show it consistently.
If he does, then there is a chance he can become an important figure next season.
He certainly has something different to other players at the club, which works to his advantage.
Brighton are overloaded with talent in the forward, midfield and wide areas.
Sarmiento has played in and can play in six different positions.
His versatility increases his chances of having a place, but there are already top-level players in the squad that also play week-in, week-out in the same areas.
It will be a big task to take their place.
He has played one game as a right midfielder.
Brighton could switch to a 3-4-3 system next season, but even then, the demands of the right midfield position in this particular system do not suit how Sarmiento plays.
He also played one game as a second striker.
Hürzeler tends to switch between using a second striker in certain games and not in others.
If he does use this role, it is either Georginio Rutter or João Pedro that play here.
Both the Frenchman and the Brazilian are extremely good players and suit the role very well.
Sarmiento does not.
The 22-year-old has played seven games as a left midfielder, scoring two goals and picking up one assist.
That is statistically solid, but for the same reason as the opposite side, he will not be played here.
He has also played seven games as a right winger.
We could see him used here, but the squad already includes Yankuba Minteh, Solly March, and Brajan Gruda who are all much better suited than Sarmiento.
Brighton also have Amario Cozier-Duberry and Facundo Buonanotte out on loan.
Both will be wanting a place in the first team in 2025/26, and both are also a better fit on the right.
The Ecuadorian's second-most played position is as an attacking midfielder.
He has played 15 games and scored one goal here.
His attributes make him the perfect fit for the number 10 role, but Rutter and Pedro can both play here, as can Gruda, Buonanotte, and Julio Enciso.
Sarmiento has much work to do if he wants to become first-choice above those players.
Another factor that could impact him is if the system is switched to the 3-4-3, as there is no attacking midfield position in this formation.
Sarmiento's most-played position is left wing.
He has played 31 games on the left and scored five goals while providing three assists.
His attributes suit the left wing position.
He is right-footed, which offers an alternative to Kaoru Mitoma, and Brighton are relatively light in this position, with just Mitoma and Simon Adingra.
Adingra has not played many minutes this season and, if reports are to be believed, was potentially up for sale in the winter window.
Brighton failed to finalise a deal for Sunderland's Tommy Watson, who reportedly could have been swapped with Adingra, so there is still a place up for grabs come next season.
The Watson transfer could be revisited, so Sarmiento needs to continue as he is this season and work on his consistency if he is to be given a chance at Brighton.
He has all the talent and potential and there is a spot open for him.
It is just a case of if he proves he deserves it, or the club feel an incoming is a better option.
