Darren Bent- Aston Villa to Newcastle United or Fulham
Bent was once one of the Premier League’s most prolific strikers, having scored plenty of goals for Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur. This persuaded Aston Villa to pay £24 million for Bent but he has not lived up to that price tag. He spent most of last season on the bench, with Paul Lambert preferring to use Christan Benteke up front. Bent seems certain to leave Villa Park this summer for a fraction of what Villa paid for him and he has even been told by Lambert that he has no future at the club.
Both Newcastle and Fulham are eager to sign Bent, with Magpies boss Alan Pardew wanting to sign a striker with plenty of Premier League experience. Fulham boss Martin Jol hopes to ease the burden on Dimitar Berbatov by signing Bent. Villa were initially demanding £8 million for Bent but have since lowered their price to £6 million as both Newcastle and Fulham refused to pay their original valuation. Both clubs are considering whether or not to match Villa’s £6 million valuation, with Fulham testing their resolve with a £4 million offer. That was rejected but it seems certain that one of the two clubs will reach an agreement with Villa to buy Bent, who will hope to get more first team opportunities at his new club.