Former West Brom winger Jeremy Sarmiento may start at Portman Road due to injury news at Ipswich Town, and he may return to torment his old team.
Following his recall at the beginning of 2024 and his January transfer to the Tractor Boys, Sarmiento played the first half of the season on loan with the Baggies from parent club Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 21-year-old has struggled to earn starts at his new temporary team, but a development in his injury at the Suffolk club could give him more chances in the closing stages.
| Championship Table (As it stands March 21st) | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Leeds United | 38 | 42 | 82 |
| 2 | Leicester City | 37 | 41 | 82 |
| 3 | Ipswich Town | 38 | 31 | 81 |
| 4 | Southampton | 36 | 26 | 73 |
| 5 | West Brom | 38 | 23 | 66 |
| 6 | Norwich City | 38 | 15 | 61 |
| 7 | Hull City | 37 | 7 | 58 |
| 8 | Coventry City | 37 | 16 | 57 |
If the young star ends up playing key roles in the struggle, the Midlands side may regret not being able to hang onto him for the rest of the season, given that both Championship sides are now in the play-off spots and vying for promotion to the Premier League.
West Brom might rue Sarimento’s loan period in the future.
For a creative player, his tenure at the Hawthorns was unproductive; in 21 games for the team, he scored two goals and did not provide an assist.
During his time at West Brom, the Ecuadorian international made a lot of appearances off the bench, which has led some to speculate that this may have contributed to Brighton’s decision to return its young player so soon.
For whatever reason, Sarmiento was heading to fellow promotion rivals Ipswich a few days after being called back, where he has scored three goals and provided two assists in just 14 games thanks to a minor increase in production, possibly motivated by a point to prove.
Given that Sarmiento made most of his outings at Portman Road from the bench, West Brom might not have been overly concerned about the scenario coming back to haunt them.
But with Wes Burns’ tragic injury, which occurred during the Tractor Boys’ 6-0 thumping of Sheffield on Wednesday, things might be about to change. Burns had to leave his Wales international duties after suffering a hamstring strain.
Sarmiento might have to switch from his usual left wing position because Burns primarily plays on the right flank, but he has experience in this position and will probably want to play wherever if it means getting more first-team playing time.
After Addicks loan, Freddie Ladapo’s stay at Portman Road is probably come to an end in the summer.
Despite having a good season, the 21-year-old will undoubtedly feel like he has something to show going into the last stretch of this season after spending more time than he would have liked on the bench during both loan stays.
Though the prospect of the two teams facing each other in the playoffs may frighten Baggies supporters more, that might spur him to some outstanding performances.
Based on his performance this season, Sarmiento undoubtedly has much to prove—especially to his old loan team.
He wished the team and supporters well on his friendly departure from the Hawthorns, but he would undoubtedly want nothing more than to make people at the team wish they had trusted him more and perhaps retained him for the entire campaign.
If he had a pivotal moment in a play-off matchup with his old team, it would add even more anguish to an already agonizing position for West Brom.
Players have a way of showing up against old teams, particularly if they feel that they didn’t provide the best picture of themselves.
The Baggies might be hoping for an automatic promotion from Ipswich, to spare themselves the heartache and the threat of having to play against a vengeful ex-player.