Villa and Hull bid to steal Cats target

Jul 29 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

DARREN Bent’s proposed club-record move to Sunderland could be in jeopardy after Aston Villa and Hull City made an attempt to hijack the deal last night.

Bent was expected to seal a £12m switch to the Stadium of Light once he had passed a medical on Wearside this morning, but the late entrance of two of Sunderland’s Premier League rivals is a potential stumbling block.

Although the Black Cats will be confident of seeing off the threat of Hull City, Villa manager Martin O’Neill might be a tougher opponent, particularly as it has been rumoured Bent was holding out for an offer from the Midlands club, who play in the Europa League this season. Given the fact Steve Bruce has already lost out to Tottenham Hotspur when trying to lure Peter Crouch to the North East, the latest development on the Bent deal will be a worry. It is understood that both clubs have matched Spurs’ asking price.

Should Bruce still manage to land the striker, it will represent a major achievement, having feared the deal was going to collapse at the weekend, Sunderland’s new manager has been delighted with the rapid progress made since they increased their offer to £12m, with an additional £2m attached to various clauses, on Monday. The fee will

eclipse the £9m Sunderland paid to Hearts for goalkeeper Craig Gordon two years ago.

It is also fitting that Bent – who would be Bruce’s fourth signing as Sunderland manager – should finally get his move to the North East thanks to Crouch’s decision to reject a move to Wearside in favour of joining Spurs.

Bruce has been tracking Bent – who was also a target for previous Black Cats boss Roy Keane – ever since the England international fell out with Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp last season when he publicly mocked his finishing ability. That appeared to spell the end of the former Ipswich and Charlton prospect’s time at White Hart Lane and, having sold Emile Heskey to Aston Villa in January, Bruce had been interested in taking the 25-year-old to Wigan before he knew about Sunderland’s desire to appoint him manager at the Stadium of Light.

And his persistence could still pay off, with Bent known to be keen on a move to Wearsdie, while Sunderland’s greater financial power than the Latics in the transfer market having left Spurs unable to resist a bid which means they stand to lose only £2.5m on the £16.5m they splashed out to sign Bent from Charlton two years ago.

That Tottenham have made a loss would suggest Bent’s time in North London has not been a success, and the striker did appear to struggle for form and confidence at times.

However, that did not stop him scoring 25 goals in 79 appearances, of which only 43 were starts. In 250 league games, Bent has scored 96 goals and he was once regarded as one of the most exciting strikers in the country during one prolific season at Charlton.

Having persuaded him to move so far north, Bruce will hope Bent can rediscover that sort of goal-scoring threat alongside Kenwyne Jones.

With Sunderland poised to spend another large sum in the transfer market, chairman Niall Quinn has once again given a gushing appraisal of owner Ellis Short’s role at the club. The American is investing his own money to buy players for the second successive summer.

And Quinn said: “Ellis has been superb. He has backed us and was behind the move to try to bring Peter Crouch to Sunderland. He expects us to be diligent in the transfer market and we will try to do that, but the backing is there.

“Ellis is eager to get us set up in the best position possible. We are not interested in getting caught up in some of the crazy stuff going on in the transfer market at the moment. Instead we will make good, sterling signings who will add to the team and who are at the right age. Ellis is 100% behind us and doesn’t interfere – he just gives us the money!”