Jeremy Sarmiento revealed Carlos Corberán’s “passion” and “confidence” in his ability were two of the main factors which helped him decide Albion was the perfect place to be for the 2023/24 campaign.
The 21-year-old attacker penned a season-long loan deal at The Hawthorns earlier this week, joining from Premier League club Brighton.
Sarmiento, who has 13 senior Ecuador caps to his name, arrives at The Hawthorns with a determination to be one of the side’s key players in the final third of the pitch.
Jeremy says the conversations both he and his father had with Corberán were extremely convincing, and the new signing is adamant he can thrive and improve under the Baggies boss during his stay in the Black Country.
Sarmiento told WBA TV: “I knew in my own mind that this season was one where I needed to get more minutes, more playing time and more confidence in order to get back going again after my injury.
“That injury kept me on the sidelines for a little while, so now I want to get back to being able to move forward again and get my confidence flowing again to show everyone what I can do.
“We knew for a while that West Bromwich Albion were interested, and specifically Carlos Corberán.
“My dad is my agent and he spoke to Carlos as well as me. We all clicked straight away. I really like his playing style.
“My conversation with Carlos before making my decision on where to go played a big role in helping me to choose West Bromwich Albion.
“He has so much confidence in me as a player and I know he’ll look after me because he’s so passionate about that. He’s told me he’s going to get the best out of me and that’s exactly what you want as a player.
“You want your manager to be interested in you and help you get better as a player.
“I spoke to a few of the lads too and they said the gaffer is amazing, which obviously helped my decision to come here.
“I’m always hungry to do well for the team and work as hard as I can and I just felt like West Bromwich Albion was the right move for me to make.
“There were a few more teams interested in me, but I knew that the right place was here.
“I’m not just coming here to get minutes for myself, I also want to do something positive for the team as well and help them reach big targets.
“My own targets are to play as much football as I can and show everyone what I am really capable of.
“I feel like I’ve shown little glimpses of what I can do during my time at Brighton, but I feel like this season is my season and I need to get up and running.
“My objectives are to score goals and create goals for my team-mates.”
The Ecuadorian youngster was born in Madrid and moved to Peckham in South London when he was just seven years old.
Jeremy, like so many young football enthusiasts in that particular part of the UK's biggest city, spent plenty of time playing cage football as a child.
He believes his “flair” and direct nature on the pitch is down to the hours spent in the capital's cages, as well as watching and copying one particular individual who many believe to be one of the very best to have ever graced the beautiful game.
“I grew up in South London after moving over from Madrid when I was seven, in a place called Peckham.
“It could be seen as kind of rough and unfortunately there is a bit of violence there.
“Football took me in the right direction and I used to play cage football with a lot of guys who were a lot older than me.
“I used to get treated unfairly sometimes because I was the smallest person there, but, saying that, it really helped me.
“I think it got the best side out of me and I feel it really helped me progress in my football career.
“Playing cage football was a great experience when I was younger and I think some of the lessons I learnt in the cage have helped me in certain moments throughout my career.
“My style of play is very direct and I like to take defenders on 1-v-1. I like to beat the player I am up against and combination work with the forwards and the No.10 is very important to me.
“I like to show what I am capable of in the games that I play, as well as in training.
“I’d say that style comes from my South American and Ecuadorian heritage which runs through me, and playing cage football back in the days too.
“I’m very direct, I want to get at players 1-v-1 and I’d like to say flair is part of my game too.
“This is what I want to bring to the game.
“Growing up, I used to watch a lot of Cristiano Ronaldo when he was at Manchester United and Real Madrid.
“When I first came to this country and he first moved to Manchester United, that’s why I supported that club for a while.
“The way he played with the skills he had was something that really attracted me to watching a lot of him. I tried to put a lot of his game into my own game and that’s something I’ve always done up until now.”
