Mega deal: Sunderland
striker Darren Bent is on the brink of a stunning £24million move
to Aston Villa
Darren Bent is on the
verge of completing a sensational £24million switch to Aston
Villa from Sunderland
.
The England international, 26,
arrived in the Midlands for a medical ahead of what would be the
deal of the January transfer window so far.
The Sunderland striker, who has
handed in a transfer request to push through the move, was told the
two clubs had agreed a deal after the Wear-Tyne derby on
Sunday.
A Sunderland statement read:
'The club can confirm that it received a written transfer from
Darren Bent following yesterday's Wear-Tyne derby
match.'
Villa owner Randy Lerner has agreed to smash the club's record
transfer deal out of sight by throwing his weight firmly behind
under-fire manager Gerard Houllier.
Fresh from the capture of £7m Lyon midfielder Jean Makoun, the
former Liverpool boss has now raided the Black Cats for their
prized asset in a dramatic signal of intent from the Midlands
club.
Houllier's record since arriving at Villa Park has been little
short of dreadful, averaging less than a point-per-game.
But this show of strength by the former credit card magnate
proves that he is backing the Frenchman as Villa attempt to haul
themselves out of trouble.
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is fuming that his hand has been
forced on a player who has served the club well since plucking him
from the sidelines at Spurs in 2009.
It is understood that there has been a cash call made on the
Black Cats boss by the club's American owners.
Bruce spent £10m backing his judgement when he signed Bent, who
was a reserve striker at White Hart Lane and now is set to turn a
massive profit on the England international.
On the move: Villa are hoping to bank on proven
goalscorer Bent to revive their struggling fortunes this
season
However, it will make a huge difference to Sunderland's
ambitions of qualifying for Europe and leaves Bruce fighting to
maintain the Black Cats' hitherto impressive start to the
campaign.
Bent scored his 11th goal of the season in last weekend's 2-1 FA
Cup third-round defeat by Notts County, but has managed just two in
his last nine games and drew a blank in Sunday's 1-1 derby draw
with Newcastle.
He enjoyed a sensational first season on Wearside after ending
his nightmare at Tottenham, and rewarded Bruce with 25 goals.
The former Ipswich and Charlton frontman missed out on a trip to
last summer's World Cup finals in South Africa, the second time he
had suffered the same disappointment, but scored his first senior
international goal in a 3-1 Euro 2012 qualifier victory in
Switzerland in September.
Bruce invested a club-record fee in excess of £13m to recruit
Ghana international Asamoah Gyan to play alongside Bent in August
last year, but it appears he now faces a fight to keep the pair
together.
