According to The Pitch Prospect, Middlesbrough launched an eleventh-hour manipulation of Jeremy Sarmiento’s move to Birmingham City.
The Blues almost agreed a deal with Brighton to sign the winger, but promotion-chasing Boro made a late move.
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Middlesbrough are discussing a £3.5million deal with the Seagulls as they look to return to the Premier League.
It had looked like the 23-year-old would move to Birmingham after Middlesbrough broke off talks over a loan deal.
But Boro chairman and owner Steve Gibson has returned and they want to sign him permanently.
Sarmiento is currently on loan at Cremonese from Brighton, where he played with Jamie Vardy.
But the Seagulls want to bring him back in order to sell the Ecuador international on and he has only played seven games for the Italian side this season.
From Boro’s perspective, this is a player who knows the Championship well, having played for Burnley and West Bromwich Albion.
In 75 games in the English second division he scored nine goals and two assists.
The decision to choose his next club now rests with Sarmiento, but if he is considering a move to the Premier League, Boro could be his best choice.
The North East club are third in the Championship, one point behind Ipswich Town in the race for the top flight.
Meanwhile, Birmingham is in 13th place.
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Keep fighting
Regardless of which club Sarmiento joins, Brighton will stand to make a significant profit on Sarmiento having spent less than £500,000 to sign him from Benfica.
It’s clear why Middlesbrough and Birmingham want him; Sarmiento’s EFL experience and ability to play numerous roles in the attacking part of the pitch.
Kim Hellberg has made a good start to life as Boro manager with six out of ten wins in the championship.
His team plays free football and looks good to at least reach the play-offs.
Meanwhile, big things were expected from Birmingham after some big signings in recent years, but that hasn’t quite happened.
They’re not doing too badly and most promoted teams would be relatively happy if they ended up in mid-table after half the season.
But with ambitious owners comes great expectations and they are five points adrift of the play-offs, so a big January could get them there at the end of the season.