Rabiu‘Success’ – Brighton confirm exit of winger after 21 appearances
All the latest contract and transfer news for Brighton and Hove Albion
Jeremy Sarmiento has completed a permanent move to Middlesbrough, for undisclosed terms.
The winger spent the second half of last season on loan with the Championship side, with criteria in the agreement met to turn the transfer into a permanent deal.
The Ecuador international made 21 appearances for Albion, having joined in 2021.
Technical director Mike Cave said, “Jeremy has spent the last few years out on loan, so this represents a great opportunity for him to settle in one place.“
Cave added: “He is another success story of a player joining our under-21s and making the step up to men’s football at a very good level.“
We wish him the best of luck for the future.
“The 24-year-old has also spent time on loan with West Brom, Ipswich Town, Burnley and Cremonense.
He won promotion from the Championship with both the Tractor Boys and the Clarets, while he helped Boro reach last season’s play-off final.
Is Birmingham the place for Brighton to loan their wingers in 2026-27?
Remember in the summer of 2024 when the Albion signed what felt like 127 new wingers?
At least two of the young players brought in during that obsession with wide players are unlikely to make their debuts in 2026-27, technically their third season as Seagulls.
More loan spells away from Brighton therefore beckon for Ibrahim Osman and Amario Cozier-Duberry – potentially both with Birmingham City.
Osman is no stranger to St Andrews. He spent the second half of the 2025-26 with the Blues. It ended up being the most successful of his three loans so far since joining the Albion for £16 million from FC Nordsjaelland.
Cozier-Duberry meanwhile shone at Bolton Wanderers in League One last season. He scored 10 goals and registered 13 assists as the Trotters won promotion through the playoffs.
And he picked up a host of individual accolades along the way. As well as being named in the PFA Team of the Season, he was also nominated for PFA Player of the Year and League One Young Player of the Year.
As a result, Cozier-Dubbery now has a long list of suitors. Bolton would obviously love to take him back. Rangers have an interest.
West Ham threw their hat into the ring recently. They apparently view Cozier-Dubbery was a potential successor to Jarrod Bowen should the Hammers’ captain not fancy Championship football.
Mentioning Cozier-Duberry in the same breath as Bowen tells you how highly rated he is. And it is why Brighton would rather seek loan deals for both Cozier-Duberry and Osman in 2026-27.
Birmingham the best loan spell Osman has enjoyed since joining Brighton
Osman arrived at the Amex amid rather a lot of fanfare. Largely because of the fee. Nobody thought the Albion were spending £17 million on a player if they were not joining Brighton to make an immediate first team impact.
Turns out though that the transfer market is crazy enough these days for Brighton to spend £17 million on a player and happily pack him off to Feyenoord and then Auxere and then Birmingham.
Osman struggled in the Netherlands during the 2024-25 season. He made only 13 starts for Feyenoord and a further 19 substitute appearances, scoring four times and registering three assists.
Things were even worse when Osman joined Auxere. Eight starts. Seven games from the bench. Zero goals. Two assists.
Brighton recalled Osman from France in January and sent him on loan to Birmingham. This ended up being a good decision.
14 starts for the Blues is the most Osman has managed in any of his temporary switches away from the Albion so far.Blues boss Davies wants Osman back at St Andrews
After Osman scored and assisted when Birmingham beat Preston North End 2-1 in April, Blues boss Chris Davies said he wanted to bring the winger back to St Andrews in 2026-27.
Ibrahim Osman has been tipped to return to Birmingham on loan in the 2026-27 from Brighton
“I would love him to come back but there are a lot of moving parts,” said Davies. “The best place for him is somewhere where he is loved and will get minutes.”
“He is built for Premier League level. The one thing you need is that physicality and he has that speed and power.”
“Also, he has that unpredictability in the way he moves his body which is difficult to stop. When you combine that with the finish he has, you are looking at a very special player.
Former Birmingham striker Kevin Phillips has also tipped Osman to return to the Blues on loan from Brighton.
Phillips told BestBettingSites.co.uk: “It is a always a tough place to go and play at St Andrews. There is pressure and expectation. He coped with it though and showed real glimpses.”
“He is an exciting talent and I would definitely look to bring him back on loan. What he needs is regular football because he has certainly got something about him.”
Osman on the left, Cozier-Duberry on the right?
Phillips is also keen on Cozier-Duberry joining the Blues for 2026-27, saying: “I think he is a very, very good player and I could see him slotting into that Birmingham team and doing well.”
“He has had a couple of loan deals now. Maybe the first to Blackburn in the Championship came too soon. He really progressed at Bolton last season and you could see him getting better and better.”
“There was a lot of pressure at Bolton in terms of getting promoted. He showed he could handle it. I think whichever team he goes to in the Championship, he will improve them. It is as simple as that.”
“The biggest thing for me is he is improving as he gets older yet he is still a young player. There is so much potential there.”
That first loan spell Phillips referred to saw Cozier-Duberry spend the 2024-25 campaign with Blackburn Rovers. He made just seven starts and came off the bench 15 times, scoring only once.
An ankle injury one month after his arrival at Ewood Park did not help. By the end of the season, he had fallen completely from favour.
In Blackburn’s last 10 games of the season, Cozier-Duberry played only 27 minutes. He was an unused sub in six games and failed to make the squad for three.
Having torn his way through League One in 2025-26, Cozier-Duberry now has a point to prove in the Championship.
He might end up making it on the right wing for Birmingham with Osman on the left.
