SUNDERLAND are set to step up their interest in Darren Bent after Steve Bruce spent last week compiling character references on the Spurs striker.
The Black Cats are in the market for a new forward after Djibril Cissé returned to Marseille and Bent – identified as a potential recruit long before Bruce took charge – has emerged as a priority target.
The new Sunderland boss returned to Portugal on holiday after his appointment was confirmed on Wednesday, but it didn’t stop him and other members of the Black Cats’ new-look backroom staff ringing around contacts in the game to ask about Bent.
It is the clearest indication yet Sunderland are preparing to table a formal offer to Tottenham for the services of their England international, who is available for around £10m.
And it is also an encouraging sign that Bruce intends to do meticulous groundwork on potential recruits as he looks to instill a fierce work ethic and will to win in his Sunderland side next season.
With 17 goals for Spurs last season, Bent’s scoring record is excellent but Bruce has spoken of the need to find players with
the right ‘character’ to prosper in the uniquely challenging football climate of the North East.
In El-Hadji Diouf, Pascal Chimbonda and Cissé, Roy Keane signed players with plenty of Premier League games under their belts – but none successfully settled on Wearside.
Although the club managed to claw back their money on them thanks to some clever manoeuvring by Niall Quinn and Ricky Sbragia, it is a scenario that Sunderland are desperate to avoid next season.
The information that flowed back to Bruce is unlikely to have dented his resolve to make the striker a high-profile early capture. With the World Cup finals approaching in 2010, Bent needs first-team football to book his place in Fabio Capello’s England party – and he is not guaranteed that under Harry Redknapp at Spurs.
If the Black Cats do make contact about Bent they can expect to field questions from Spurs about the availability of Kenwyne Jones, however.
Tottenham are still keen on the Trinidad & Tobago striker, but Bruce aims to hang onto one of the club’s major assets – as well as adding new recruits.
With Sunderland’s new-found financial muscle and status as the North East’s only Premier League club, it is unsurprising that they have been swamped by agents looking to move their players to Wearside. But Bruce will shop carefully – and has indicated his desire to keep tapping unfamiliar markets to find players.
“It’s in my nature that I always want to trawl for a nugget, if I can,” said Bruce. “Obviously, I can now shop at different levels but I will always want to try and unearth a talent or drive a hard bargain.
“It’s all about the drive within a player, as much as the talent they possess.
“So many of the players I had at Wigan were young and hungry and desperate to do well, and that’s what you’re looking for when it comes to talent.
“The good thing for me as Sunderland’s new manager, though, is that I can now look at buying players that have always been beyond my budget in my previous years as a manager.”
As revealed in The Journal yesterday, defender Titus Bramble is keen on a move to the Stadium of Light, while Wigan team-mate Paul Scharner is also under consideration. Lee Cattermole is another player who would relish a move back to the North East, although signing him would throw Dean Whitehead’s Sunderland future into doubt.
A flurry of other names have been linked including Stewart Downing, Stéphane M’Bia, Newcastle defender Sébastien Bassong and Rangers midfielder Steve Davis, reported to be a target in the Scottish media yesterday.
