Darren Bent facts for kids
Bent in 2008
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darren Ashley Bent | ||
| Date of birth | 6 February 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Tooting, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1998 | Godmanchester Rovers | ||
| 1998–2001 | Ipswich Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2005 | Ipswich Town | 122 | (48) |
| 2005–2007 | Charlton Athletic | 68 | (31) |
| 2007–2009 | Tottenham Hotspur | 60 | (18) |
| 2009–2011 | Sunderland | 58 | (32) |
| 2011–2015 | Aston Villa | 61 | (21) |
| 2013–2014 | → Fulham (loan) | 24 | (3) |
| 2014 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 2015 | → Derby County (loan) | 15 | (10) |
| 2015–2018 | Derby County | 58 | (12) |
| 2018 | → Burton Albion (loan) | 15 | (2) |
| Total | 486 | (179) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999–2000 | England U15 | 8 | (7) |
| 2000–2001 | England U16 | 11 | (3) |
| 2002 | England U19 | 3 | (3) |
| 2003–2005 | England U21 | 14 | (9) |
| 2006–2011 | England | 13 | (4) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Darren Ashley Bent (born 6 February 1984) is a former English professional footballer who played as a striker. A striker's main job is to score goals, and Bent was very good at it. After retiring from football, he became a radio presenter for talkSPORT.
Bent began his journey at Godmanchester Rovers before being noticed by Ipswich Town. He joined their youth team and made his professional debut in 2001. He later played for several big clubs, including Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, and Aston Villa.
He was known for his speed and goal-scoring ability, becoming one of the top scorers in the Premier League. Bent also played for the England national team, scoring four goals in 13 matches.
Contents
Club Career
Starting at Ipswich Town
Darren Bent joined Ipswich Town's youth academy when he was 14. He turned professional in 2001 and scored his first Premier League goal in April 2002 against Middlesbrough.
Even though Ipswich was relegated to a lower division, Bent became a key player. He scored 18 goals in the 2002–03 season and won the club's Young Player of the Year award. Over the next two seasons, he scored 36 more goals, helping Ipswich reach the promotion play-offs twice.
Premier League Star
Charlton Athletic
In 2005, Bent moved to Charlton Athletic for £2.5 million. He had an amazing start, scoring two goals in his first match. He was even named the Premier League Player of the Month for August 2005.
In his first season, he scored 18 league goals, making him the top-scoring English player in the Premier League. He was Charlton's top scorer for two years in a row, but the team was relegated in 2007.
Tottenham Hotspur
Bent's goal-scoring talent earned him a big move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007 for a club-record fee of £16.5 million. He scored his 100th career goal in March 2008.
During the 2008–09 season, he scored his first hat-trick (three goals in one game) for Tottenham against Dinamo Zagreb. Despite some ups and downs, he finished the season as Tottenham's top scorer with 17 goals.
Sunderland
In 2009, Bent joined Sunderland for £10 million. He scored the winning goal on his debut. He became famous for a strange goal against Liverpool when his shot deflected off a beach ball and went into the net.
He had a fantastic first season, scoring 24 league goals. This made him Sunderland's Player of the Year. He continued to score important goals in his second season before another big club came calling.
Aston Villa
In January 2011, Aston Villa paid a club-record fee of £18 million for Bent. He scored the winning goal on his debut against Manchester City.
On 3 February 2012, Bent scored his 100th Premier League goal, becoming only the 21st player to reach that milestone. An ankle injury later that month unfortunately caused him to miss the rest of the season and a chance to play in the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament.
Later Years and Retirement
After his time at Aston Villa, Bent went on loan to several clubs. He played for Fulham, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Derby County.
He joined Derby County permanently in 2015. His final club was Burton Albion, where he played on loan in 2018. After a long and successful career, Darren Bent announced his retirement from football on 25 July 2019.
International Career
Bent played for England at many youth levels, including under-15, under-16, under-19, and under-21. He was a great goalscorer for the youth teams, scoring 9 goals in 14 matches for the under-21s.
He made his debut for the senior England team in 2006 against Uruguay. His first international goal came in 2010 in a 3–1 win against Switzerland. He went on to score four goals in 13 appearances for his country.
Personal Life
Bent was born in Tooting, London, to a family of Jamaican heritage. His father, Mervyn, also played football for the youth teams of Wimbledon and Brentford.
When he was ten, his family moved to Cambridgeshire. As a talented young athlete, he also competed in the long jump for England Schools. Bent is a fan of Arsenal.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ipswich Town | 2001–02 | Premier League | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 2 | |
| 2002–03 | First Division | 35 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | 43 | 18 | ||
| 2003–04 | First Division | 37 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | 41 | 16 | ||
| 2004–05 | Championship | 45 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 50 | 20 | ||
| Total | 122 | 48 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 141 | 56 | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 2005–06 | Premier League | 36 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 44 | 22 | ||
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 32 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 35 | 15 | |||
| Total | 68 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 4 | — | — | 79 | 37 | ||||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2007–08 | Premier League | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | — | 36 | 8 | |
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 33 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | — | 43 | 17 | ||
| Total | 60 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 6 | — | 79 | 25 | |||
| Sunderland | 2009–10 | Premier League | 38 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 25 | ||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 20 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 23 | 11 | |||
| Total | 58 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 63 | 36 | ||||
| Aston Villa | 2010–11 | Premier League | 16 | 9 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 9 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 22 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 10 | |||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 16 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 23 | 6 | |||
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 7 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 61 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 72 | 25 | ||||
| Fulham (loan) | 2013–14 | Premier League | 24 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 30 | 6 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 2014–15 | Championship | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | ||||
| Derby County (loan) | 2014–15 | Championship | 15 | 10 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 17 | 12 | |||
| Derby County | 2015–16 | Championship | 21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 25 | 3 | |
| 2016–17 | Championship | 37 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 42 | 13 | |||
| 2017–18 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 73 | 22 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 84 | 28 | |||
| Burton Albion (loan) | 2017–18 | Championship | 15 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 2 | ||||
| Career total | 486 | 179 | 25 | 17 | 33 | 13 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 568 | 217 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2006 | 2 | 0 |
| 2007 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 6 | 3 | |
| Total | 13 | 4 | |
Honours
Tottenham Hotspur
- Football League Cup: 2007–08; runner-up: 2008–09
England U15
- Victory Shield: 1999
England U16
- Nordic Cup runner-up: 2000
Individual
- Ipswich Town Young Player of the Year: 2002–03
- Premier League Player of the Month: August 2005
- Charlton Athletic Player of the Year: 2005–06
- Sunderland Player of the Year: 2009–10
Images for kids
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Bent training with Tottenham Hotspur in 2009
