The decision by Darren Bent to switch clubs from Sunderland to Aston Villa during the January transfer window looked to be a bizarre move at the very least. After all, Sunderland were sitting pretty in the Premiership in sixth place, just three points off a Champions League spot, while Villa were languishing in the relegation zone, third from bottom.
But results since are likely to suggest that Bent has become an integral part of the Birmingham club, while ‘The Black Cats’ have not coped well with the loss of their star striker. Sunderland have gained just a single point in nine games since January, whereas the Villans have added 18 to their total in the same period.
Sunderland were unhappy when Bent made the €20.4m move to Villa Park but the striker had no hesitation when the opportunity arose.
Just after his transfer, he said: “Aston Villa is a massive football club and as soon as I knew they were interested in signing me I wanted to join. The size of the football club and the history of the club are major reasons for me coming here.”
He continued: “There are some top, top players here too, real quality, and I’ve been able to speak to the manager and the owner about their ambitions for the club. I’m very excited about being a part of what we hope to achieve.”
The 27-year-old scored six goals in just 11 starts and became an instant hit with the Villa fans when scoring the only goal of the game in his debut against Manchester City. His tally for the season now stands at 14, which places him third in the top scorer behind Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez.
Bent, who is of Jamaican descent, was born in Tooting, south London. As a boy he supported Arsenal and was also a season ticket holder at their old ground, Highbury, where he often went to see his childhood hero and legendary Arsenal striker Ian Wright.
He made his debut in the Premier League back in April 2002 with Ipswich Town, but a month later the Tractor Boys were relegated. It took three years before he could play top-flight soccer again when Charlton Athletic signed the promising striker. Sadly his 13 league goals in 2007 could not prevent the Addicks from being relegated, which prompted a big-money transfer (€18.7m) to Tottenham Hotspur.
Opportunities at White Hart Lane were few – Bent scored just 18 goals in two seasons at the north London club – but if you were to add up his total minutes on the pitch it would be the equivalent of 24 full games in his second season, where he notched a dozen goals.
Given a chance he might have continued his impressive form of scoring at least a goal every two games, which he has continued to do in the last couple of seasons. Bent scored 24 league goals in 38 matches with Sunderland last season.
Villa’s number 39 also looks good for a place in the England team after a stop-start beginning to his international career – only nine caps to date since making his debut five years ago. More importantly, he has scored in his last three appearances, his most recent against Wales in March in what was his first competitive international start.
Previously with England’s under-21s, he scored an impressive nine goals in 14 appearances. It’s that type of form, for both club and country, that can only help to place him in Fabio Capello’s future plans.
