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Darren Bent on loan to Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion

Aston Villa v FC Dallas - Pre-Season Friendly

FRISCO, TX - JULY 23: Darren Bent #19 of Aston Villa warms up before kickoff against FC Dallas during an international friendly on July 23, 2014 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

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Darren Bent has played in the Premier League since 2005.

For one month, he’ll be heading down to the Championship.

The Aston Villa striker was sent on a one-month loan to Brighton & Hove Albion, who currently sit in 20th out of 24 teams in the Championship.

[ RELATED: Villa squander first half lead, draw with Saints ]

Bent has scored 25 goals in 72 games for Villa, but has struggled to find consistent minutes under Paul Lambert. The striker spent last season on loan with Fulham and has only made eight appearances for Villa this year, seven of those coming off the bench.

At Brighton & Hove Albion, Bent will be coached by Sami Hyypia, who was a staple on Liverpool’s back line for ten seasons. The Finnish manager told the
club’s official website that he is very excited to have a player of Bent’s caliber on his squad.

We are delighted to welcome Darren to the club, and I hope he will score plenty of goals for us during his time with us.

His record speaks for itself. He is a top-class striker with a more than 100 Premier League goals with Charlton, Spurs, Sunderland and Aston Villa.

Three years ago he was a regular in the England squad under Fabio Capello; there is no doubting his ability to score goals.”


The move to Brighton could work wonders for Bent and Aston Villa if the striker can find his form. The Villans have been anemic on offense, managing only six goals through their first 12 matches.

[ RELATED: Latest Premier League standings ]

A few goals in the Championship could be what Darrent Bent needs to get back his confidence and prove to Paul Lambert he deserves more minutes at Villa Park.