Carlos Corberan has confessed that Jeremy Sarmiento still has “problems” in his game that he has to work on before making his West Brom debut.
The Ecuador international was one of three new newcomers to the Hawthorns this summer, arriving on a season-long loan from Brighton, and despite participating in every Championship game thus far, he has failed to crack Corberan’s starting XI.
After scoring in the Baggies’ win over Middlesbrough and creating a dangerous chance against Huddersfield, there have been requests for Sarmiento to play after the international break, but Corberan has indicated he still has to improve his game.
“If I were to evaluate him, the level of minutes that he played against Huddersfield, he showed that he still has problems managing the minutes of the game,” he stated, according to The Express and Star (11 September). He required a lot of time to do the second action after completing the first. That’s why he was in pain at times.
“We’ll see how he progresses, but I believe he’s making the impact we want right now.” In football, you need great players in the starting lineup as well as top players on the bench.”
Although Sarmiento has had to work on his fitness in order to play the type of game that Corberan wants to see at The Hawthorns, his potential and ability are now such that he practically needs to be utilised from the outset.
This season, the Brighton loanee has completed more dribbles per 90 minutes than any other player in England’s top four competitions [NT Stats, 4 September]. When he has played for the Baggies, he brings something unique to the team’s lineup.
With two weeks off over the international break, Sarmiento may have had the perfect opportunity to show Corberan that he is now ready to start, and he should be the freshest he has been since coming at the Hawthorns.
It may also be simpler for the 21-year-old to manage his workload as a starter rather than a replacement because he is frequently expected to come on and affect proceedings with a burst of energy that players who play the entire match are not asked to do.
Sarmiento will hopefully make his debut against Bristol City on Saturday (16 September).
