So Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of Darren Bent from Sunderland for a club record fee, believed to be in the region of a staggering £24 million. The striker is set to be formally unveiled at a press conference this evening.
As we stated yesterday when the news of Villa’s bid and Bent’s transfer request broke, the move seems an odd one and not necessarily an event that will immediately boost the Fantasy potential of a striker who has dipped considerably in returns following last season’s 24 league goal haul.
Bent has so far recorded just 8 league strikes, despite Sunderland showing decent form and “overachieving” – the Black Cats currently sit in 6th place. Villa, in contrast, are languishing just above the relegation places having suffered a stuttering season with Gerard Houllier’s arrival failing to spark a revival in fortunes.
Goals have been a major problem – Villa have notched just 24 in 22 league games. This aggressive move in the transfer market should provide a solution. Bent has proven himself on the Premier League stage in previous seasons and, if Villa can maximise the service to him, he will surely start repaying the substantial fee sooner rather than later.
While Bent’s Fantasy Premier League price of 8.6 is unlikely to tempt immediate investment at a time when the likes of Carlos Tevez, Robin Van Persie and even Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov, are attracting the bulk of the investment up front, Villa’s new acquisition must be watched and a glimmer of form could spark interest. Villa’s run of opponents between Gameweek 30 and 36 looks a particularly promising period for Bent and his new team-mates.
Villa are one of the teams facing a double fixture in Gameweek 24 with a home clash with City, followed by a trip to Wigan next week. Those fixtures appear to offer Bent an immediate platform to register his first goal in the claret and blue.
Fantasy Managers must also consider the knock-on effects of this deal; if Houllier can retain both Ashley Young and Stewart Downing, then their potential to earn assists will surely be boosted by the arrival of a proven finisher. The same could be said of Marc Albrighton if he can regain a starting role.
We must also wait to assess the impact on the January transfer window. Only today there have been articles suggesting that should the Bent deal be completed, it would ripple throughout the Premier League and prove the catalyst for a number of moves that will likely influence our Fantasy selections over the coming weeks. John Carew’s switch to West Brom could well be the first development of many to emerge in the next week or so.
