English Premier League: Darren Bent relishing his first team role at Sunderland
Darren Bent’s move last summer from Tottenham Hotspur’s to Sunderland has worked like a charm for the young English striker. At Tottenham, Bent rarely featured in the first team for Redknapp’s side but at Sunderland, he has adopted
a talismanic position under the guidance of the ex-Wigan manager, Steve Bruce. Bent has slowly added more and more to his game, at first he was just seen as a goal poacher but now he has built up his heading ability as well as his off-the-ball movement.
Darren is currently 26 years old and is a part of the English national team squad that is scheduled to face Montenegro in the middle of October at the Wembley stadium in London as a part of the European Championships 2012 qualification
campaign. At Tottenham, Bent only played a part time role as he usually featured for the Hotspurs from the substitute’s bench; most of his appearances for the North London club came as a substitute. Despite the fact that the first team regulars like Jermain
Defoe and Robbie Keane were not performing up to the mark, Bent was not given preference over the faltering strikers and thus he decided to opt for a move away from Tottenham.
In his first season at Tottenham, Bent only scored eight goals. However his goal ratio was better in his second season with the London club as he scored seventeen goals for Harry Redknapp’s side in the 2008-2009 season. In the
summer transfer window of 2009, Bent was sold by Tottenham to Sunderland for an initial transfer fee of 10 million pounds. Recently, Bent told the press that as soon as Sunderland came calling for him, he opted to move away from the White Hart Lane. In his
first season at Sunderland, Bent netted twenty five goals in forty appearances. It was a remarkable return on games played for someone who was playing in his debut season for the Black Cats.
In his interview, Darren described Sunderland as a massive club with a passionate following. He also told the media that Sunderland were promising him regular first team football which he was not getting at Tottenham. The English
striker added that, he is happy at Sunderland because he is playing football regularly and the goals are going in for him. The prolific centre forward further elaborated by saying that people in and around the club are really appreciative of his performances.
Darren also spoke about his ambitions to make himself a regular starter in the English national team as he said that, when a striker plays regular games and scores goals on a consistent basis, the international team manager also
takes notice when the process of selection comes around. Bent emphasized on the importance of scoring goals for his club side as he said that nothing beats the feeling of scoring a goal whether it be via one’s shin, knee or anything. He concluded by saying
that it doesn’t bother him how the ball ends up in the back of the net as long as it makes it way over the goal line. Bent also commented on his new striking partner, Asamoah Gyan by saying that the Ghanaian forward has looked great in training with Sunderland.
Gyan earned fame through his heroics at the 2010 FIFA World Cup for Ghanaian national team; his move to Sunderland came on the last day of the summer transfer window of 2010. Darren Bent also said during the same interview that,
Gyan looks like a great impact player. Talking about Sunderland’s tactical approach, he said that usually the Black Cats play with a 4-5-1 system against top teams but in some of the league matches, they are bound to field two strikers upfront.
Sunderland’s next league match is scheduled to be played at the Ewood Park against Blackburn Rovers after the two week international break comes to a conclusion on 18th of October, 2010. Steve Bruce’s men are presently
11th in the English Premier League table.
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