Is Darren Bent good enough for the big boys?

Sunderland striker Darren Bent comes head to head with champions Manchester United on Sunday hoping to end the Red Devils chances of the Premier League title.

If some media reports are to be believed the England striker could be heading to Old Trafford in a big money move this summer.

Prolific

Darren Bent has been in superb goalscoring form this season and has scored 24 goals in the Premier League. The 26 year-old has scored goals at every club he’s been at, even at Tottenham where he was mostly used as a substitute.

He needs regular first team football to find his best form and at Sunderland he is the main focal point of the attack, rather than just a bit part player as he was at Tottenham.

Interest

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has revealed recently that he will try his utmost to keep him with the Black Cats. He says he doesn’t need to sell his star striker and won’t be under any pressure to sell, whether Bent’s head is turned by interest from big clubs remains to be seen.

Manchester United and Arsenal (where he used to have a season ticket) are believed to be interested in signing the England international and a move to one of those could prove an attractive option. It could be his chance to prove he is good enough to play on the big stage. No offence to Sunderland but they won’t be able to offer European football next season.

Twit

One thing that really annoyed me about Bent was the fact that he constantly expressed his thoughts via the social networking site Twitter. Some of his comments made him look like a right twit though. It’s good to see he has now abandoned his Twitter page and started to concentrate on his football career. It seems to have done him some good.

Quality

There have been some question marks over Bent’s quality but I have to admit I’m a big fan and think he is capable of performing at the top level. When he moved to Tottenham I thought he would have pushed on and become a top class striker.

However he failed to nail down a regular first team spot at White Hart Lane and ended up frustrated on the substitute bench. The move to Sunderland last summer was just what he needed. The move has proved a success both for Bent and for the North East club.

World Cup

Steve Bruce believes Bent should be on the plane to South Africa with the England squad. It’s hard to argue with the former-Palace boss. Bent is a very useful option for England boss Fabio Capello. The forwards that Capello has available to him haven’t been in the best of form this season.

The likes of Peter Crouch and Emile Heskey haven’t exactly been prolific this campaign. Yet they seem to be above Bent in the pecking order. Bent has only made five appearances for the Three Lions but hasn’t really taken his chance at international level.

He does have all the attributes to make it at the top level and is at his peak age wise. He’s old enough to have gained vital experience, yet young enough to still have time to make a big impression on the big stage. He could be Fabio Capello’s ace in the hole in South Africa.

Next

This summer could be a big summer for Darren Bent’s career. If he goes to the World Cup and impresses then he could have more than just English clubs looking to acquire his services.

I can’t see Bent staying in the North East for much longer and I believe he’s used Sunderland as a stepping stone to bigger things. He’s taken his opportunity and this summer I can see him moving to a bigger club.