Aston Villa News 24/7
Done deal. Four and a half year deal.
Darren Bent has officially completed his move from Sunderland in what will be a record transfer deal for Villa (£18m rising to £24m the most popular claim) and will be eligible for Man City on Saturday. I think he’ll probably play, don’t you?
Bent brings undoubted quality exactly where we need it the most. The fee is huge and can be read as a sign of intent or desperation depending entirely on your own outlook. For me, coupled with the canny acquisitions of Kyle Walker and Jean Makoun, it’s absolutely a sign of intent.
As far as the transfer fee goes, it’s almost entirely funded by the Milner deal and if a home can be found for Stephen Ireland at a reasonable fee, bringing Bent to Villa Park could practically be considered cost neutral.
Me? I’m absolutely thrilled. Not just for what I think he’ll mean for this season, but for many seasons to come. He could easily become, hopefully in combination with Gabby, that potent striker we’ve missed since Dwight Yorke left. No pressure though, Darren.
Full statement from the Official Site:
Aston Villa are delighted to confirm that Darren Bent will be unveiled today as the club’s record signing, having agreed a four-and-a-half year deal to June 2015.
The 26-year-old England striker completed a medical before the formalities of the signing today and will be available for the Barclays Premier League game against Manchester City on Saturday, January 22 at Villa Park.
“Aston Villa is a massive football club and as soon as I knew they were interested in signing me I wanted to join,” Bent said.
“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.”
Darren will be unveiled at 7pm at Villa Park.
Welcome to Aston Villa Mr Bent, we’re all looking forward to seeing you in the claret and blue shirt. I think it will suit you!
Bent will wear #39… at least for the rest of this season. There is a new Darren Bent wallpaper available here.
UTV
You might also like...
10 Comments to “Confirmed: Darren Bent is now an Aston Villa player”
Leave a Reply
Huge signing! I’m looking forward to Saturday now!
Confirmed: Nan to reward Randy for this special gift
I’ve put away my mourning costume. Got myself online. To Old Trafford I shall be going. Tickets booked. Thank you Randy. Up the Villa.
(Ps Mr H, I’m still watching you)
i’m tempted to use the ‘F’ word here, nan. you know the one i speak of.
Massive signing, my God, GH at least can bring in players worth using, MON take note!
I share the enthusiasm, but always interesting to see if the markets share the confidence – and they apparently do – on several sites, Bent is 5/4 to score on Saturday
i was just updating the transfer page, which i’m yet to decide how to redesign for the post-MON era, but interesting to note that with the milner transaction taken into account the net spend in this period is just £6m.
this is something we’ve discussed in the past in relation to spending to catch up with the bigger clubs. we were selling low value players and buying big, but now we’re finally in a position to sell big and buy big too.
Oh bollocks. I’m fickle. I’m fickle. I’m fickle. It’s because I love and love hurts. Os this it? Tell me this is it. Tell me that ‘Yes we can’ is comin around again.
I know nothin stays the sane, but if you willing to play the game……
Suggest we get GH to assemble a 1st XI with this cash that Randy’s found down the back of the sofa and then get the main man back in.
I really think this is an interesting gambit by Lerner. Although I’m thrilled with the signing and I think Bent will make a huge difference in our club’s fortunes, we are clearly paying “over the odds” (at least based on various stories out there).
The thing about value is that Bent may be “overvalued” to Chelsea or ManU (they have Drogba and Rooney) but to a club struggling to find goals and fighting a relegation battle I think Bent might very well be a steal at these lofty prices. It all depends on your perspective and depends on the short and long-term costs associated with relegation.
I’m happy to see that we as a club are starting to realize that one top-notch player is often worth far more than 3 Sidwell’s — even if the Sidwell’s cost less in total. Quality NOT quantity is the key, especially for a squad that is willing and able to use its young players to effectively increase squad size and cover injury/suspension. I hope this marks a bit of a shift in our approach to the transfer market, bringing in key pieces of the puzzle necessary to move us forward rather than spreading the available funds across a larger set of tough, hard-working grinders (Americanism?) who can be motiviated to play above their talent level by a charismatic gaffer.
Great post Idaho. Most damning indictment of MONs Villa that I have ever read (and trust me, many have tried to shake my beliefs on this one)
Thanks Nan. It wasn’t intended to be an anti-MON rant but rather a belief (hope) that the entire AV team finally is focusing on the prize — CL football!