Friday 2 January 2015 16:30, UK
Striker Darren Bent has joined Derby County on loan until the end of the season as the Championship club strengthen their bid for promotion.
The 30-year-old frontman, who has 13 full England caps and is one of only 24 players to score more than 100 Premier League goals, moved to the Rams on Friday from Premier League side Aston Villa.
Bent, who for the past two months has been on loan at Derby's Sky Bet Championship rivals Brighton, is due to link up with his new team-mates for the first time on Monday.
He is expected to make his debut for the third-placed Rams in their clash against second-placed Ipswich at Portman Road the following Saturday.
Head coach Steve McClaren said: “We are delighted to welcome Darren Bent to Derby County for the rest of the season.
He adds to our already excellent attacking options. Darren has scored goals wherever he has been during his career and we believe he can contribute on the field for us.
“I’ve worked with him in the past and he brings significant Premier League and international experience with him.
“He adds to our already excellent attacking options. Darren has scored goals wherever he has been during his career and we believe he can contribute on the field for us.
“We’re braced for an exciting second half of the season, which is always an important stage in any campaign, and we’ve got plenty of big matches coming up for everyone to look forward to – and Darren certainly brings big game experience with him.”
London-born Bent progressed through the youth ranks at Ipswich Town and, after signing professional terms, scored 55 goals in 141 appearances for them between 2001 and 2005.
He also broke into the England youth international and U21 sides before moving to Charlton Athletic, then in the Premier League.
He scored 37 goals in 79 games for Charlton, which earned Bent a £16.5m transfer to Tottenham in 2007, a record fee for Spurs at the time. He also made his full international bow in March 2006 against Uruguay.
In July 2009, he joined Sunderland, for whom he scored 36 times in just 63 appearances, before moving to Aston Villa in the January transfer window four years ago for a club-record fee.
Despite scoring 25 goals in 72 appearances for Villa, Bent's first-team opportunities have been limited under Paul Lambert and he spent the whole of last season on loan at Fulham, followed by a brief loan to Brighton during November and December 2014, scoring twice in five appearances.
Bent's first international goal came in a 3-1 European Championships Qualifier against Switzerland in September 2010 under Fabio Capello. He scored further goals against Denmark, Wales and Montenegro before making his last international appearance in November 2011 against Sweden.
