Misfiring attacker will now have to find a different home next season.
Unwanted Aston Villa front man Darren Bent’s proposed move to Newcastle United next season appears to have hit the buffers after the Midlands outfit insisted on a transfer fee of £8 million for their player, reports the Daily Mail.
The some-time England international has been at Villa Park for the past two-and-a-half seasons now, having originally been signed for the club by ex-Villa manager Gerard Houllier from Sunderland in Jan 2011 for a fee that could potentially rise to as much as £24m depending on add ons.
However, despite a positive start to life in the Midlands the 29-year-old has found it harder to win a regular starting place up front under new Villa head coach Paul Lambert, who took over from Alex McLeish in the Villa hot seat last summer.
As a result, Bent not only lost the captain’s arm band, but he also lost his first-team place under the Scot, so much so that Bent featured in just 23 fixtures in all competitions for the Premier League strugglers in the previous campaign, scoring only six goals all season long.
But a reported move to St James’ Park in the close season now appears to have fallen through with the Magpies said to be unwilling to meet Villa’s asking price for the forward.
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