An end to the Darren Bent transfer saga has been witnessed as the Birmingham club have secured their man on a four-and-a-half year deal which will see the England striker at Villa Park until June, 2015. Bent completed a medical today which allows the 26-year-old to be available for Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester City at home.
Bent spoke of his delight on Villa's official website on Tuesday:
"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. There are some top, top players here too, real quality, and I've been able to speak to the manager and the chairman about their ambitions for the club, so I'm very excited about being a part of what we hope to achieve."
A final transfer fee was not disclosed by Aston Villa while British media have rumored the fee to be at minimum around 18 million pounds. While Bent has been a proven goal scorer in the Premier League, the former Tottenham, Charlton and Ipswich Town man is leaving Sunderland, a club currently in a Europa League spot for next season, for Aston Villa, an underachieving club currently set for the muck and mire of a relegation scrap.
The saga was not prolonged, but a saga it was, complete with a full theatrical arc. The first act came this morning, when news broke of Darren Bent's surprise transfer request. In the second ac,t we heard Sunderland wanted more than the £18 million Aston Villa had initially offered. While we were dug in for one or two days of haggling, the third act has lurched toward a quick, amicable, and lucrative conclusion. Villa have quickly capitulated, agreeing to a £19 million fee that could rise to £24 million.
Here's what The Guardian has to say about the status of the potential record-setting deal for Villa:
The fast-fading love affair between Darren Bent and Sunderland is about to come to a formal end with the completion of the striker's transfer to Aston Villa. Although Sunderland rejected Villa's initial £18m bid today a £19m fee potentially rising to £24m was agreed tonight when the striker travelled to Birmingham.
Sources close to the deal suggested that there is an "inevitability" about the record-breaking move.
Amongst other details reported by Louise Taylor is the revelation that Bent had submitted an initial transfer request last summer, one year after moving to the Stadium of Light from Tottenham. Additionally, Taylor reported Villa submitted their bid last week, a bid of which Bent had become aware.
The prospect of moving to Villa Park gives Bent a chance to move from the North East, having soured on the area after his car was attacked by Newcastle supporters last summer. Bent also sees a move to Villa as a chance to be closer to his family in Cambridgeship while increased his profile for the England national team.
With Sunderland having accepted Aston Villa's bid, Bent must now reach personal terms with the Birmingham-based club. The 26-year-old striker currently has two-and-a-half years remaining on his deal with the Black Cats.
Sunderland striker Darren Bent may be on the verge of a surprise move away from the Stadium of Light after handing in a transfer request. The news comes after Aston Villa tabled a surprise offer for the striker, a reported fee of £18 million, and while the England international remains on the books of the Black Cats, the former Ipswich, Charlton, and Tottenham man could be set for the fourth move of his career.
Sunderland have not confirmed the amount or origin of the bbg, but in a one sentence statement released on the club's website, England's sixth place club had confirmed the 26-year-old's desire to move:
The club can confirm that it received a written transfer request from Darren Bent following yesterday's Wear-Tyne derby match.
With eight league goals, Bent is Sunderland's leading scorer, one goal ahead of Asamoah Gyan. Manchester United loanee Danny Welbeck has added six goals, hinting the Black Cats could be reasonably situated to handle Bent's departure. Those hints, however, deceive.
Bent's 32 goals in 58 appearances speaks to a longevity Gyan and Welbeck have yet to establish. With Welbeck dealing with a hamstring problem and Frazier Campbell out until May recovering from knee surgery, losing Bent right now would leave Steve Bruce hamstrung in the short term. Currently siting only four points out of a Champions League place, Sunderland is faced with the ill-timed departure of their most prolific scorer.
Another aspect that could frustrate the Black Cats could be the price. Though £18 million seems a reasonable bid, it is only marginally more than Sunderland ended up paying Tottenham for Bent in 2009. Villa's bid could represent as little as a £1.5 million turnover on the £16.5 million Sunderland may have sent Spurs.
For Aston Villa, the Bent acquisition would address a glaring need, with veteran Emile Heskey having become the choice striker after Gerard Houllier's hire and John Carew's dip in form. Heskey has posted three goals in 10 league appearances while Carew was scoreless in his 10 matches. Carew had scored 34 league goals in the three preceding seasons, only two more than Bent's scored in his last season and a half.
While Villa scored 52 times last season, they have only managed 24 in 22 league matches this year, Stewart Downing's five goals leading the team. After three consecutive sixth place finishes, Villa sits 17th, one point above the relegation zone.
With the deal not done, Sunderland clearly developing a plan for this unforeseen problem, debates will center around why Bent's moving from a sixth place club, one where he has settled in perfectly? Why is he moving to a team that could be in the Championship in sixth months and replicate the experience he had at Charlton? Is this the right move at the right price for Villa? While Darren Bent's career at Villa Park has yet to begin, those debate have, likely to have days to develop before further news on Bent's Birmingham move.
7500 To Holte: Darren Bent, Gabriel Agbonlahor Have Potential To Be Best Striking Tandem In Aston Villa History
With a relegation battle, chasing a slightly redundant midfielder (Jean Makoun), or the overall lackadaisical start from Gèrard Houllier, Aston Villa had plenty to keep them in the headlines before the Darren Bent move. Now, Houllier's broken the club record transfer fee in a move that, while reeking of desperation, looks likely to re-solidify their place in the Premier League.
Thus, it's no surprise that SB Nation's Aston Villa blog, 7500 to Holte, has a view on the matter. After today's new of the transfer's finalization broke, blog manager Aaron Campeau gave us a Villa supporter's snapshot thoughts:
It certainly has the potential to be such. The question is whether Bent will respond better to this high-profile transfer than his last one. Also in question: whether Villa's funk transcends Bent's potential Bent-y-ness. While those are the risks, it's nearly impossible to say Villa's done anything to hurt their chances to survive. The Bent acquisition is, at a minimum, a bold step in their relegation fight.
You can read more on Villa's new striker at 7500 to Holte, SB Nation's Aston Villa community blog.
Jan 18 1:19p by Richard Farley - 0 comments