Darren Bent backing young Fraizer Campbell
Aug 18 2010 The Journal
SUNDERLAND striker Darren Bent is tipping youngster Fraizer Campbell to plug the gap left by Kenwyne Jones’departure from the Stadium of Light.
Manager Steve Bruce is currently assessing his options after allowing the Trinidad and Tobago player to make an £8m switch to Stoke, and has been linked with Ghana international Asamoah Gyan and England forward Peter Crouch among others.
However, Bent is confident 22-year-old former Manchester United trainee Campbell could save the club millions.
Asked about the prospect of a big-name striker joining the Black Cats before the transfer window closes, the 26-year-old said: “If it happens, it happens.
“If not, then I am more than happy playing alongside Fraizer because he has come back and knocked in a lot of goals in pre-season and he looks ready now.
“In his own mind, he is ready to play week in, week out.”
The two men started Saturday’s 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw with Birmingham – a matter of days after Jones headed for the Potteries, much to the surprise of the man he partnered for much of last season.
Bent said: “It came out of the blue that Kenwyne was going. Kenwyne didn’t even say anything himself about what was going on. But the gaffer is going to make his decisions, he is going to do what he feels is best for the football club and he felt that was to let Kenwyne go. But it frees up options for others and Fraizer is going to come in and take his chance now – he played really well on Saturday – and Danny [Welbeck] is there waiting and so is Martyn Waghorn.”
Bent’s comments came as he passed on the benefit of his experience to 11-year-old David Thompson, winner of a mentorship under the Disney XD Aim High initiative.
The striker’s father Mervyn was a big influence during the early days of his career and remains just as involved.
Bent said: “I was an Arsenal fan, so I looked up to Ian Wright quite a lot, but my dad was the one who worked me day and night. Even before I went to Ipswich, he had me on the park kicking balls until my legs were tired and I couldn’t kick anymore. He was making sure I did things right and he is still the same now as he was then.
“Even after the game on Saturday, he was happy that I had scored a goal, but I missed a chance and he was going on and on and on about that chance, so nothing has changed.”
Jones, meanwhile, could be back in action soon after suffering only minor ligament damage to his right ankle. There were fears he was facing an extended spell on the sidelines after being hurt on Saturday during the 2-1 defeat by Wolves.
Jones lasted barely 10 minutes of his debut following a challenge by Jody Craddock.
He had a series of scans and X-rays yesterday to assess the extent of the injury and manager Tony Pulis breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the results.
He said: “The news is as good as we could have expected in the circumstances. We were obviously very concerned about the damage.
“We will assess Kenwyne’s progress over the next few days so it is hard to say how long he will be out. We are talking days, though, not weeks or months.”
Stoke’s next match is against Tottenham on Saturday at the Britannia Stadium.
To make sure you are part of Disney XD’s Aim High, visit www.disneyxd.co.uk/aimhigh and find out about the fantastic mentorships you could get involved in.
