Villa complete record Bent deal

Aston Villa have smashed their transfer record by signing Sunderland striker Darren Bent for a reported 18 million pounds.

Bent agreed to a four-and-a-half year deal with Gerard Houllier’s side just 24 hours after handing in a transfer request at Sunderland.

The 26-year-old completed a medical at Villa Park on Tuesday and will be rushed into the side to take on Manchester City on Saturday.

“Aston Villa is a massive football club and as soon as I knew they were interested in signing me I wanted to join,” Bent told Aston Villa’s official website.

“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.”

The transfer, which could end up rising to 24 million pounds with add-ons, by far eclipses the previous record fee of 12 million pounds paid for Stewart Downing in 2009 and James Milner in 2008.

Bent’s departure is a massive blow for Sunderland, with the striker contributing 36 goals in 63 games for the Black Cats, including eight this term.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce said: “It’s hugely disappointing that Darren has decided that his future lies away from Sunderland and the players, our supporters and the club as a whole have every right to feel massively let down.”

“The timing is especially hard to take, given that we are progressing positively and are in a great position to push on.”

“Everyone has been nothing but supportive of Darren in his time at Sunderland but it’s obvious he’s not been himself in training and we’ve certainly not seen the best of him in games in recent weeks – and we now understand why.”

“I’ve always stated that my aim is to build a talented, young squad for the long-term to help the club achieve sustained success and I want Sunderland fans to know that our ambitions haven’t changed on that front.”