The next couple of days look like they’ll see the completion of a couple of strange looking transfer deals.
First up is the Darren Bent move from Sunderland to Aston Villa. In any other season you wouldn’t see any reason why Bent wouldn’t want to move to Villa, as in recent years they have been a much better side than the Black Cats. But right now if the deal was done Bent would be signing for a club 11 places below his present team, as Villa currently sit a lowly 17th in the Premiership.
The deal makes perfect sense for both of the teams involved however. Sunderland would be stupid to turn down the reported £20 million fee they’re being offered and, despite Bent being far and away their leading scorer over the past few seasons, they would be able to use the money to find a capable replacement.
That does raise the question of why the fee is so high in any case. I suppose though, when you see players like James Milner moving clubs for £26 mill, and Chris Smalling’s ridiculous £10 million valuation, Bent’s transfer fee is about right for a player of his calibre. Since August 2005, only Rooney and Drogba have scored more Premiership goals than Bent (Bent has 81, they both have 82), and apart from a lean spell at Spurs, he’s scored wherever he’s played. Villa would be getting a top Premiership striker for their money.
I just don’t see his personal footballing motivation behind it. Unless of course, he’s a member of the club of footballers driven by money, which is the most likely explanation.
For me the potential transfer of Steven Pienaar to Spurs from Everton is even stranger. True, Spurs are a Champions League team and have every chance of being so for the foreseeable future. But Pienaar is an important and established player for Everton and he’s playing regular football for a good Premiership team under a great manager. Spurs play Bale on the left, Lennon on the right, and Modric and van der Vaart centrally, so every position that Pienaar could play in is already taken by players who are better than him in my opinion. He’d find it very difficult to start games and even harder to hold down a regular place if he did.
The fee that’s being talked about is just £3 million and I find it incredible that Everton are willing to part with the player for so little. Who can they buy with the same level of talent as Pienaar for that sum of money? It isn’t even like there are a load of players available at the moment.
It’s difficult to class either of these potential transfers as panic buys. Spurs don’t need the player, although he would provide very good cover, and Villa would be investing in a proven talent if they land Bent, as they look set to do. Still, both a bit strange for me.