Darren Bent was a disaster for Aston Villa

Aston Villa‘s switch enterprise has come below plenty of scrutiny in recent times however the membership had been even pulling off disastrous offers going again so far as 2011.

The choice to pay a then club-record £24m to signal Darren Bent from Sunderland seemed to be justified after the previous England worldwide had hit 36 goals in just 64 appearances for the Black Cats.

Was Darren Bent a catastrophe for Villa?

Nevertheless, he was by no means capable of replicate that kind at Villa Park, enduring a torrid time within the Midlands till he was ultimately launched 4 years later, joining Derby County on a free switch.

In 72 appearances for the Villans, Bent would handle simply 25 goals, which was a poor return contemplating his hefty switch payment and the expectations that got here with it. Certainly, when bearing in mind how a lot they paid, he remarkably price the membership simply shy of £1m-per-goal (£960,000).

After leaving the membership he was lamented by former boss Paul Clement, who dubbed the striker “overweight and lazy” after he had been sacked on the membership.

Bent would hit 28 targets for the Rams earlier than one remaining season with Burton Albion, the place he managed simply two targets in 15 appearances earlier than retiring on the age of 35 in the summertime of 2019.

Sadly for Villa followers, Bent’s transfer to the Midlands signified the start of the top for Bent, as he did not hit double digits in any of his three seasons on the membership.

He additionally endured tough mortgage spells with Fulham and Brighton, scoring a combined eight goals in 35 appearances away from his dad or mum aspect.

Bent’s remaining marketing campaign earlier than his exit noticed him fail to search out the again of the web in 9 appearances for Villa, though seven of these appearances got here from the bench within the Premier League, as he was afforded simply 76 minutes of motion.

To signal a participant for £24m and lose him for nothing emphasises simply how poor a call it was from Villa to signal Bent. Certainly, that sum of cash can be value a quite outstanding £36m these days when bearing in mind inflation during the last 11 years.