At 28, and in the prime of his career, Darren Bent has recently found himself twiddling his thumbs on the bench at Aston Villa. With 7 goals in 9 Premier League games, Aston Villa are desperately struggling to find the net, which makes it even more puzzling that Paul Lambert is leaving his star striker out of the team.
I like Lambert but I’m struggling to continue to create a case for his defence. Leaving Bent out of the Aston Villa team is like loaning out your main striker to West Ham when you don’t have a replacement. Madness!
But Aston Villa’s woes could well become Liverpool’s gain.
Bent may never be a world class striker. It could be argued that he would fail to make an impact against a really top side in the tightest of games. But he knows where the net is and scores goals on a regular basis. Bent is a good quality Premier League striker. He’s mobile, athletic, with a good positional sense and a great finish off both feet.
Liverpool’s problem over the last few years is that they have drawn against far too many mid-table sides. They fail to put lesser teams to bed on a regular basis. Suarez and co, create lots of chances but the end product isn’t delivered frequently enough. In short, it’s no secret that Liverpool need a finisher.
The Daily Mail and other papers have linked Bent with a winter move to Anfield and he would surely be the perfect fit for the club at this time – a medium term, stepping-stone player who would add a lot of points to their league tally over the space of the season and get Liverpool much closer to the Champions League places.
The biggest question for us, is whether Liverpool can currently afford Bent. Liverpool’s financial strength isn’t at all clear but their level of investment in the summer would suggest that they don’t have tens of millions to throw around. There is a niggling notion that Andy Carroll would have to be sold before serious money can be spent again.
But, at around £15m, Bent would be a fine acquisition for a side that needs sharper teeth in attack.
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Barry'sboots
Nov 2, 2012 at 10:50 am
Villa fan. Yes please. Fine article.