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Bent Put Up For Sale?

The Daily Mail are reporting tonight that Villa will allow Darren Bent to leave in January, but only if potential suitors cough up £18million for the transfer fee.

There are no quotes, or even a reference to a source inside the club, but Moxley rarely is far from the mark when it comes to this sort of stuff, and it is a sensible progression given what we've seen lately and Bent's lack of involvement in the first team.

I'm sure as January nears this story won't go away and neither will the rumours, but the bottom line is if Paul Lambert wants more from our forwards then he has to make the decision on who makes up our squad, even if it does mean we lose a finisher of the class of Bent in the process.

If Bent does go, then as long as the money is reinvested and Lambert uses it to get a replacement who more suits his plans, and then strengthens other areas of the team few will complain going off the general consensus on the Bent Departure Forum Thread.

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Writer: Mike Field

Date:Wednesday December 5 2012

Time: 11:42PM

Your Comments

Was always on the cards but i can not see anyone paying £18mill for him........ realistic....£12mill-£14... cant see him being sold for anymore........pity though,if he could have got a partnership going with Benteke it could have been good.would be surprised if we got that type of money though for him..

jasevilla

Neither can I Jase. 18m fo someone who spends his matchdays on the bench at best?.... IF it is true, then yes, about 12m at best I'd say. Otherwise, PL needs to play him and put him in the shop window.....

Pride of Lions

Unless a foreign team came in (which I doubt) Id want the 18m just because we are selling to a rival and Id take no less than 15m which Im sure many teams would see as reasonable but I dont want him to go...

CDX_EIRE

If true, and I repeat if, then it's a very clever move from the club. Cuts out those like QPR, and those below us ergo even if he leaves he won't be joining a club that could do the dirty on us, but at the same time sends the message, he will be used on PL at points, but we are in no rush to strengthen another team unless a £15m average is received which we in turn can seriously use to strengthen ourselves. Much in the way Randy was clever when he said Barry would have to at least attract £12m before we entertain selling, despite his contract status.

All that said, I still wish we'd give him and Benteke a run together in a front 2, or if we are sticking with a front 3 then stick Bent to hang, between Benteke and Weimann as the ball winners.

Problem with that though PoL so far Bent has hardly shone when he has been played, he was dropped unfairly once in my humble but hes hardly done much since really and we have looked more dangerous without him, but as above, there has to be a balance where he is involved but is used simply to lurk in the box.

mike_field

I like Bent as I said before the reason I like him is because of the excitement his signing caused, the game against Man City and strong finish we had under GH... I thought we were really going places we had the makings of something which would have rebounded us back into europe IMO... Thats why I like him and thats why I want to keep him its pretty much sentimental selling him subconsciously tells me the club is going in a different direction... However if we did sell that wouldn be the case as I fully trust PL and wanted him before we got Eck... I feel we are two MF signings away from being able to play Bent in the team... as I said though 15m or get on your bike

CDX_EIRE

We simply need to see more of him in PL's team and to see if he and Benteke could link up. If we sell then it has to be for silly money otherwise we need his experience. UTV.

holte ender 1969

I'd be extremely sorry to see Darren depart Brum B6, and personally I think that we are making a mistake in offloading him. We seem to have discarded him way too easily. Still, if Lambert feels that Bent has no Villa Park future, and if he can bring in a better finisher to replace him (which after all is the only way forward, bring in better quality to replace who/what you're shipping out), then that's the way it has to be. Hope though that its not a decision that comes back to bite us viciously on the backside. Replacing him, by bringing in a better penalty box predator, which is what we need right now, and what the team is crying out for, will be no easy task.

glensider

Looks like he will be staying then. No club will pay £18mill for him so we might as well play him. Surely he has to play either way - going or not. We need goals and he needs to be in the shop window. I hope he doesn't turn into yet another massive financial loss that we all so often seem to embarrass ourselves with. UTV

wenttorotterdam

Very well said wenttorotterdam

AdzVilla11

His departure would fit the PR management pattern which has emerged at Villa. Reassurances which don't match up with events and then once the fans have got used to the idea, do what was always denied. The thing people need to take on board is that it's not just wages it is amortisation too. So flogging him for the same fee would represent good business for Villa because it would mean the amortisation would be zero instead of £4.5m a year. If Faulkner can pull that off he will surely be in for a slap on the back, if not a bonus.

OnMeHeadFred

Dont mind him being sold as long as we get he full transfer fee to reinvest. Selling Bent could just be to offet PL's summer spending (as per the last 2 seasons with Young and Milner)

son_of_cher

Selling Bent in January is common sense. Once we are relegated at the end of the season he will want to leave, we won't be able to afford his wages and his value will plumet.

AVbornandbred

Still don't understand this. The years I watched Villa and all we needed was someone who can finish and now we have one we want to sell him. Why not Bent & Benteke together? I don't get it. If we need money offload the likes on N'Zogbia

bakerson

If this is true it is classic Villa. We always show our hand and then wonder why we get our pants pulled down regarding player sales fees. It's like someone slagging their house off during a viewing but still expecting top dollar. "Yeah, the boiler is knackered, there is rising damp in all the rooms and the extension was built without planning permission. I wont accept a penny under the asking price though!". If we could be guaranteed £18million I don't think many fans would have a problem. My main problem is knowing all the bids will be for a knock down price, and knowing it will be difficult to replace him with a like player, due to both the paltry fees offered and the fact that the Jan market is inflated - we were made to pay £24million for gods sake! The way he has been ostracised from the squad I will be surprised if anyone bids upwards of £10million. Fatty (I don't know how the world works) Faulkner strikes again.

heavy d

Still not convinced PL wants to sell Bent I feel he has administered a kick up the behind and would not be supprised to see him start soon. No way 18 mill is going to be paid and if it does happen I shudder to think of the fans response if all of it is not passed on to PL for some quality players. By the way agree with you Bakerson we have enough "dead wood" to unload already inluding Dunne, Hutton,Warnock,Nzobia and I know its open to debate so personel opinion you can also add Delph,Bannan & Ireland to that list for me.

Merlin128777

The Mail have pulled the story already (not available at that link). Which is quite unusual. Don't hate the playa.

malacaxeta

I am betting that no one offers you more than an initial £10m. then what do you do, take it or keep him and see his value decline further

oxfordspur

I have tried to find a stored or cached copy without success....only snippets or requotes on other sites. The piece apparently refers to two "decision makers at the club". One named Randy, one named Paul. Fly away Darren, bad luck Paul.

malacaxeta

Interesting to see that the Mail has now withdrawn the story, and another website has apologised to Villa for carrying the "untrue" story. I really think we should keep him, offload N'Zogbia, and try to get Downing back to provide the crosses. Even if Benteke is first choice, we need to have diiferent options up front, and I can't see how you can have too many 20-goal-a-season strikers

Mark from Dudley

Another site that ran the story has just posted an apology to the club. Unfortunately it already went viral. Wonder how betting on a sale has changed today.

malacaxeta

They setting eh price high at 18 million so they can negotiate. If they set it at 14, managers would come in with 8-10 million. This way they will likely get around 14 million. It's called psychologically

kefkat

I remember at the time Downing went, a lot of Liverpool fans were saying they should sign N'Zogbia instead. I wonder if they would be up for a swap? Wishful thinking, maybe. But sometimes the players just aren't right for the club. If Rodgers thinks he can get something out of N'Zogbia, things could get interesting.

Mark from Dudley

Mala, the article said that the decision makers had accepted that Bent wasn't in Lambert's plans. Interesting to see it pulled though, as said no quotes or club source referenced, but not a big leap given his lack of involvement?

Still say I'd love him to get a run with Benteke though to see if they could click and compliment each other.

mike_field

Thats what we call spin mate. I remain convinced this was a fait accompli the day Lambert reported for duty. Lambert just avoided what happened to Rodgers at Redscouse (ie farmed out Carroll and then couldn't get the replacement in before Sept 1 -quack quack oops) which kind of makes sense but seems like the contract came back to bite him in the ass. Just do it (sell) is what I say.

malacaxeta

So it's spin because it doesn't suit your anti board Lambert doesn't pick the team outlook? So playing him, making him captain whilst looking to up his game was all a smokescreen? Don't buy it mate, if he goes it's because he's not giving Lambert what he wants, but I still want to see him get a run with Benteke because if they could gel they could be dynamite.

mike_field

I agree with you mike BUT here's the thing - I don't think it ever will gel. I'd be happy to be proved wrong. Anyway, lots of hot air from the Daily Fail and everyone's up in arms - heehee.. UTV

ExpatVillaShirt

Oh heavy d grow up, do you support the club or just exist to bitch about it mate? You're entitled to your view but I'm entitled to say it's tiresome, childish and thoroughly unconstructive. Take your play ground insults elsewhere, there are adults around.

Especially as the classic Villa you talk about actually overinflated fees for Barry, Milner, Young and Downing as our so called poster boys. Give over, and hug your Barbie.

Expat - I'm not sure myself, but surely with Gabby unable to hit a barn door at the moment it's worth trying? Southampton was pathetic, but we could've been 2-3 up. Swansea was better, but apparently that's because they were chasing the game. Give them a couple together and see if Benteke and Weimann can be the provider Bent needs to capitalise on his skills...in many ways what have we to lose? If it doesn't work it can be changed at halftime can't it, or it can be used with 20 mins to go etc.

mike_field

"Anti board" is for another day (and goes back partly to a summer in Cambridge many years ago). Were you anti-Doug ever ?? Its possible to support this club without supporting the board on any given day. Two words - Alex Mcleech. Anyway - Lambert has said on the record that its "drivel" and he doesnt want to sell - lets see. I am reminded of the general consensus that O Nearly left because he didnt want to sell Milner, Milner didnt want to be sold...you know the rest. I would also like to track down a piece I read in a foreign paper (prob US, like IHT or USA Today - so not the UK rubbish) at the time when Houllier fell ill in 2011....of the many fascinating revelations, one was that Houllier was being told to play certain players. Not sure why thats a story you would just make up.

malacaxeta

I liked Jimmy Milner as much as anyone on here but to say he didnt want to go is stretching the imagination a bit. If a player doesnt want to leave he just has to say I am playing out my contract, the club have to honour it. Milner and Young at least showed a bit of class in the way they left unlike that toad of a winger who had told us 9-10 months before how much he owed AVFC and the fans.

Merlin128777

Not sure thats true - its not that straightforward, and I was echoing what I have seen/read/heard in the last two years. The point here is "Lambert picks the team". Or not. Yep, he picks the team from the squad he's given to pick from. To imagine that , in this day and age, he doesnt have to take direction from the finance dept is naive. Maybe he had the decision to save the cash on Bent addons to spend in January - maybe not. Amounts to the same thing. Even then he may not have the option to decide whether we pay Dazza's wages until July 2015.

malacaxeta

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