'Fee agreed' - breakthrough in Birmingham City and Middlesbrough race for £3.5m Brighton gem

Birmingham City are set for transfer disappointment as their Championship rivals are reportedly on the verge of completing a last-gasp hijack.

Blues have been working hard to sign winger Jeremy Sarmiento from Brighton & Hove Albion and looked set to get a deal over the line. The Seagulls have been keen to recall Sarmiento from his loan at Serie A club Cremonese and sell him on this month, and Birmingham were seen as appropriate suitors.

Chris Davies has already landed four of his January targets, with left-back Kai Wagner and striker August Priske joining on permanent deals and midfielder Jhon Solis and Brighton winger Ibrahim Osman arriving on loan. But the Birmingham boss still wants to add more firepower to his squad and it was hoped yet another Brighton deal could be completed.

Jeremy Sarmiento transfer twist

Sarmiento was meant to be the fourth signing from Brighton this season alone - after James Beadle, Eiran Cashin and Osman - but it appears Middlesbrough have succeeded with an ambitious eleventh-hour hijack attempt.

TalkSPORT reports Boro are ‘set to complete’ a permanent swoop for Sarmiento after ‘verbally agreeing a fee in the region of £3.5 million’. The Teesside outfit have already agreed terms with the player, who is set to undergo his medical tests at the back end of this week.

Kim Mellberg’s side had pulled out of the race to sign Sarmiento but re-entered late on. It’s a blow for Birmingham as they were very close to securing Sarmiento’s services and had moved on from other targets to focus on getting the deal done. Blues are now likely to turn their focus back to those other targets ahead of the February 2 deadline.

How will Sarmiento fit in at Middlesbrough?

Already experienced in the Championship having turned out for West Bromwich Albion, Ipswich Town and Burnley in recent seasons, Sarmiento is capable of playing on either wing or as an attacking midfielder.

The 24-time Ecuador international might need some time to build up a head of steam before becoming a regular starter for Boro, as he has racked up merely 137 minutes of football for Cremonese so far this season. Sarmiento, playing alongside Leicester City legend Jamie Vardy, has failed to hit the ground running at the Italian club.

Set to be formally recalled by Brighton ahead of his £3.5 million move to the Riverside Stadium, Sarmiento will no doubt be excited to have a new permanent home. Although the Ecuadorian made 21 senior appearances for the Seagulls, he was never in the forefront of the Premier League club’s plans, with a sale always in mind.

Middlesbrough should be able to offer assurance over regular game time, at least when Sarmiento is up to full match sharpness. Morgan Whittaker, Delano Burgzorg and Sam Silvera have been sharing many of the minutes on the flanks at the Riverside so far this campaign, so Sarmiento will have to force his way past at least one those to get his name rubber-stamped in the XI.