What Jeremy Sarmiento's West Brom spell tells Brighton about Tommy Watson transfer
The Baggies are among those interested in the youngster, after a far-from-ideal debut campaign on the South Coast.
Joining from Sunderland last summer, he made just a handful of appearances for the Seagulls, before being sent out on loan to Millwall in January.
There too he would struggle, making just two starts out of 16 squad appearances.
If he is to make another loan switch this summer, it needs to be the right one.
And for Brighton, they have history with West Brom that may not paint the best picture of the Baggies when it comes to a loan destination.
What happened between West Brom and Jeremy Sarmiento?
Joining on loan from Brighton in the summer of 2023, Jeremy Sarmiento was one of the most highly rated youngsters coming through the ranks at The Amex.
He would enjoy a reasonable time in the Black Country, but the spell did not exactly reap the imagined rewards.
The Ecuadorian made 21 appearances for Albion, but racked up just 737 minutes of football - not even half the minutes he could have got under his belt for the same amount of appearances.
On 1 January 2024, he would be recalled by Brighton and sent to Ipswich Town for the remainder of the seasonjust two days later.
He would make just the one more appearance for Ipswich and rack up four less minutes, so Brighton hardly got anything sizeable out of either spell in the end.
But, the Seagulls will have obviously wanted much more out of the original move, hence why they were so willing to recall him in the first place.
They have a substantial £10million investment to protect in Watson, while the winger has already lost valuable time during a largely unproductive spell at Millwall.
Another season spent fighting for occasional minutes would do little for either party.
The Baggies should not be discouraged from pursuing the deal, but they simply must come with the promise of guaranteed football, with Brighton surely desperate to avoid wasting another promising youngster.
How do West Brom convince Brighton that they are ready to take on Tommy Watson?
West Brom as a club have taken a reputational hit in recent years.
A Premier League club half a decade ago, Albion have slipped down the pecking order, and even fought for their Championship safety last season.
If they are going to poach Premier League youngsters, they need to prove that their own ambitions are in place ahead of the new season.
Boss James Morrison is the perfect man to do that, after saving the Baggies at the end of last term.
Having coached at youth level before taking the first team job in February, he will surely be keen to make use of younger talents in his first full season.
This could convince Brighton that a deal is possible, especially if West Brom really are to pull back away from the bottom of the standings, and head back to where they belong in the promotion picture.