Newcastle could very well be interested in Tottenham Hotspur’s Darren Bent, but certainly not for anywhere near the £16.5M Spurs paid Charlton for his services last June.
Darren Bent – Bobby Robson almost signed him in early 2003 – for peanuts
The deal has turned out to be a very poor one for Spurs, but a great one for Charlton Athletic, who were relegated last season, and certainly were happy to get that kind of money for their London born striker.
The fee paid by Spurs at the time was seen to be a little ridiculous, for a player who wasn’t even an England regular, and has only played for England 3 times. Spurs seemed to overpay for their new players last summer. Expectations were high this season, but after a poor start, manager Martin Jol was sacked after Newcastle beat them 3-1 in October.
Since then of course new manager Juande Ramos has made some fantastic buys in January, which should propel Spurs to bigger and better things. Ramos certainly looks the part at White Hart Lane, and Spurs are doing very well in the second half of the season.
West Ham United, Aston Villa and Newcastle are mentioned as possible suitors for Bent – the usual trio of teams who have money to spend because of our Billionaire owners. . But Newcastle will be mentioned with almost any good player that is even potentially available in the summer.
For those who remember, Sir Bobby Robson tried to get both Darren Ambrose and Darren Bent, from his former club Ipswich Town in early 2003, for a combined fee of £3M. At that time both players were in the England Under-21 side.
The offer was made to the East Anglian club’s administrators, Deloitte and Touche, who rejected the bid as “derisory and insulting.” Well we tried. 😀
Ipswich were not too happy with the bid, to be sure, but we finally got Ambrose for £1M and Bent turned us down after a similar fee had been agreed between the clubs. As it turns out Bent has turned out to be the better player of the two. In January, 2003, both players were said to be worth around £4M each, although that seems high.
It turns out that Darren, when he does play for Spurs, has a fairly good goals record with 5 goals in 11 starts this season. But with Keane and Berbatov above him in the pecking order, he may not get too many starts, although Defoe was unloaded to Portsmouth in January, which may open things up for him.
However, Ramos may have somebody lined up in the summer to bring in and may want to move Darren on.
We have no idea if Darren Bent is on Kevin’s radar screen for the summer, but he isn’t worth anything north of £10M, if he’s worth even that.
If that means we stand no chance of getting him – so be it.
That’s our view.
What do you think?
Opinions and comments awlats welcome – just keep them decent for the bairns. 😀
42 comments so far
Tom_Toon
Feb 20, 2008 at 5:06 PM
Comment #1Nice lad, i know Darren Bent, played badminton with him just before he moved to tottenham, got wipped though 🙁
Not for us.
steve
Feb 20, 2008 at 5:17 PM
Comment #2great – a forward line of Smith and Bent, I can see the rest of the premiership quaking in their boots at the thought!
Bent is worth nothing to us and we need to get rid of Smith
wsq
Feb 20, 2008 at 5:25 PM
Comment #3we need pace! of all things
Bosck
Feb 20, 2008 at 5:29 PM
Comment #4It pains me to say it, but we could do with ambrose in our midfield at the moment!!!!
Davies
Feb 20, 2008 at 5:29 PM
Comment #5Midfielder’s and defenders would be more welcome, unless we can shift a few of our unwanted strikers.
Smith, Viduka, Ameobi, please come in, your number has been called…….
Stephen
Feb 20, 2008 at 5:41 PM
Comment #6Get rid of owen viduka ameobi Smith.
And bring in Ashton,Hunterler,Benzema and put martins in with that and we got fresh pace up front ppl who can hold up the ball……
Makes sense dont it?
Tom_Toon
Feb 20, 2008 at 5:46 PM
Comment #7It makes sense if your Manure or Real Madrid!
Gordon
Feb 20, 2008 at 5:51 PM
Comment #8We need pace throughout the team – not just upfront.
That’s the key thing Bobby’s team had and he’s reiterated it many times.
PS – Spot on Tom_Tom. Get so sick of reading posters say things like “We need Berbatov, Benzema and Richards” etc. Yes, we do but it’s like saying we’d improve with Ronaldo!?!
JP from The Rock of Gibraltar
Feb 20, 2008 at 6:03 PM
Comment #9I’ve said many times that Darren Bent is worth a look into. He was tremendous for Charlton a few years back and everyone was interested in him then. He still is a great player but at Spurs he has lost his status with the likes of Berbatov and Keane taking his place. He could do wonders for us and I prefer him to Ameobi anytime. 7M should do the trick to bring him up north and I don’t see it as a bad option. I mentioned him ages ago before Sam was even in the frame. This is a great under-rated player we can snatch. Same goes with Crouch, I used to laugh when I first saw him but he is really talented and under-rated. If we could sign either or even both of these players then we will be extremely healthy in our front line…we could agree a loan deal perhaps with the option of making it permanent.
Tom_Toon
Feb 20, 2008 at 6:06 PM
Comment #10Owen, Ameobi and Smith swap deal for Bent would do me fine.
Hammy
Feb 20, 2008 at 6:41 PM
Comment #11We could have Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov playing up front……..and still no goals.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE NEED A SUPPLY LINE FOR THE FRONT GUYS.
WE DO NOT HAVE ONE…..
Mighty Mouse
Feb 20, 2008 at 6:41 PM
Comment #12The only player who makes our purchase of Owen for 16M sound like good biz
Mighty Mouse
Feb 20, 2008 at 6:44 PM
Comment #13so if Elamander is worth 20M? we may struggle in the summer.
I’ll agree that Benzema is out of our range but what about Ben Arfa?
Not nearly as prolific but just the sort of exciting skillful player we need, maybe a straight swap for Milner? 🙂
Pete
Feb 20, 2008 at 7:03 PM
Comment #14I’m with Mighty Mouse on this one. Spurs fans can’t wait to get rid of this guy, he’s been absolutely terrible for them. If you make a worst buys list, this guy would probably snag a good position high up on the board.
If we really have to buy him, please let’s not use more than a couple of million pounds. He’s just not worth more atm. Sick and tired of buying underperforming players.. I don’t know if you guys have noticed, but they usually don’t get any better after they get here!
nufctj
Feb 20, 2008 at 7:10 PM
Comment #15no, No, NO!
nufctj
Feb 20, 2008 at 7:11 PM
Comment #16but I would gladly pay 16m for Berbatov!
cooldj
Feb 20, 2008 at 7:18 PM
Comment #17ha ha his name is bent
Gooderz
Feb 20, 2008 at 7:29 PM
Comment #18Toulouse are looking to keep hold of Elmander so of course they’re going to crank up the price just like Charlton did with Bent.
However, should Toulouse remain in their current situation then Elmander may well demand a move away and then they’re stuck and a fee would be nearer the 10m mark.
Besides the only players that have gone for that kind of money in the French league have been the likes of Essien and Drogba from clubs doing much better in the table than Toulouse (although they did get into the Champions League qualifiers this year to be knocked out by Liverpool).
On the Bent subject, he is a good player but needs a fresh start to be honest and regular games, but giving Spurs their money back is out of the question. 8m tops but maybe a clause or two should he finish high in the scoring charts, get international caps etc, otherwise leave well alone.
Tom_Toon
Feb 20, 2008 at 7:37 PM
Comment #19Toulalan playing tonight for Lyon but Boumsong in defence even though Cris is fit, strange choice there. Toulalan will have fight with Rooney, guarantee it. Rooney needs a good kickin.
milnerfan
Feb 20, 2008 at 7:50 PM
Comment #20i dont really see bent having star quality, hes not a big name and he doesnt bag 20 goals a season. So whats the point in getting him.
ronaldeano
Feb 20, 2008 at 8:06 PM
Comment #21He’s better than Allan Smith
nightfall
Feb 20, 2008 at 8:28 PM
Comment #22everybody’s better than alan smith! 😀
e
Feb 20, 2008 at 10:13 PM
Comment #23milner fan he does bag 20 goals a season.. thats how he got to tottenham, but it only takes a few bad games and ur out of the pecking order with a team that has them strikers, hes only like 22 as well i would have him over owen..
Leo*
Feb 20, 2008 at 10:29 PM
Comment #24he is a great player, if he is given games then he will score and will create, his pace is great. get rid of smith shola and viduka and get bent in along with crouch would be tasty
dont want to see us spent alot on bent if we do though, maybe a reasonable fee with good add ons
cooldj
Feb 20, 2008 at 10:58 PM
Comment #25£9m no more.
milnerfan
Feb 20, 2008 at 11:32 PM
Comment #26i think 10m at a push for him. owen has a proven record. i wuld rather have a corner flag up front that smith lol
CJ
Feb 20, 2008 at 11:43 PM
Comment #27I personally don’t believe Bent would be worth paying 10 mil for but when you consider we have paid 6 m for Smith and 5.5m for Barton and 9.5 m for Luque then it soesn’t sound to bad does it.
Toon_Under
Feb 21, 2008 at 2:57 AM
Comment #28I’d have him, but not for that money, maybe 8 or 9m. He’s better than most of our forwards, and we don’t need big name strikers at the moment. Look at our team. We are shite. We are not going to get big name players, not for a while anyway. Bent could come in as a stepping stone and then we move him on at the end of next season. Plus he’d be an improvement on Ameobi, Smith and at this stage possibly Carroll (though I still rate the lad).
We need pace and supply as well though. Might have been a tongue in cheek comment but I’d have Ambrose back at this stage too. At least he can move, hit a ball and would put in a shift unlike most of our mid’s spare Jimmy Milner. We’re in strife and our team is shite, utter shite.
nufctj
Feb 21, 2008 at 3:22 AM
Comment #29forget bent! Messi for the Toon! what do you all think? 100m-150M should be enough to snatch him, but we could save money by playing with a keeper, the back four and messi. Yes the Messi 4-1!
AdamCF
Feb 21, 2008 at 8:29 AM
Comment #3016.5 mil.. u r kidding. The guys not worth more than 5 mil!
cooldj
Feb 21, 2008 at 9:18 AM
Comment #31do you think lawro will predict 2-0 or 3-0 to manu??
Rich
Feb 21, 2008 at 9:19 AM
Comment #32I like Bent but againt 8 million plus add ons sounds about right, hes not really been given the chance at Spurs and he was superb before that, id sell Ameobi and Smith and have him Owen, Martins and Viduka dont think we wwould go far wrong
Greek-toon
Feb 21, 2008 at 9:22 AM
Comment #33nufctj. you must have a stonking hang over this morning.
Rich
Feb 21, 2008 at 9:37 AM
Comment #34I think lawro will predict 3-1 to Man Utd the weasel
Mac
Feb 21, 2008 at 9:45 AM
Comment #35If Kev wants to buy British and we have the reported 50 Million to spend this is how it should be spent.
Bentley 14 m
Carrick 11m
Ashton 7m
Bridge 6m
Dunne 6 m.
Then to raise a few more coppers sell some of our current batch i.e Rozy Butt Smith then go for Crouch 9m and get Wes Brown on a free,job done european spot no bother
nightfall
Feb 21, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Comment #36dunne – 6m
carrick – 11m
ribery – emre+15m
barbatov – 20m
and perhaps song from arsenal…we need another young, quality CM..and he’ll be free in summer
and sell: smith, butt, barton, shola, viduka, carr, rozehnal, emre, and perhaps geremi & cacapa! and add youngsters to our fist team squad: carroll, kadar, bohang, lualua, tozer, zamblera, edgar, goodsmark,…,…
so our team would be:
given/harper
beye/ramage dunne/edgar faye/taylor enrique/kadar
milner/lualua carrick/song ribery/bohang zog/duff
owen/martins berbatov/carroll
+ forster, zamblera, tozer, goodsmark,…
oh and btw…who’s saying our squad is not big enough…even if we’d sell 10 players and buy only 4 we’d still have aprox. 30 players who could all play for our first team…
cheers 😉
thelongshanks
Feb 21, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Comment #37bent is ok but 16million we wud be mad to pay that and spurs would take it in a heart beat.
thelongshanks
Feb 21, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Comment #38nightfall i like that team if only we signed thoses players and it will take signings like that to take newcastle where we want to be.Cmon MA hand in that pocket.
irishal
Feb 21, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Comment #39i think darren bent would currently walk into our team as first choice, he hasnt been bad at tottenham its a case that he has been behind berbatov, many a good striker would be, i’d say that due to his age even £12m would be reasonable business but we have to learn to be shrewd in the transfer market, jimanez is good friends with many at tottenham and maybe h could use that to his advantage in brokering a deal
bent offers mobility and height which is a combination our other forwards dont
i think he is one of many players who would significantly improve our first team
CRAIGG
Feb 21, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Comment #40I think 99% of us would have taken Darren Bent off charlton in a heartbeat I would take him now pacey, good finisher, decent in the air, ok hold up play and great penalty taker i think we could get him for £10m and see if they will take carr back!!