10 Premier League Record Signings Who Were A Waste Of Money

9. Darren Bent

When Darren Bent looks back on his football career he will wonder where it all went wrong. The striker is currently on-loan at Championship club Derby, but at one stage he was one of English football's top centre forwards. At Bent's second club Charlton Athletic, 22 goals in 44 appearances during the 2005-2006 season helped showcase his natural ability to score goals and put several Premier League clubs on high alert. A move to Tottenham was next on the cards for the young forward but with Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov and Jermaine Defoe alongside him at White Hart Lane he found it difficult to get a run of form due to inconsistent playing time. When he was on the field however, Bent looked every worth every penny of the £16.5M it cost Spurs to get his signature. 17 goals in his second year at the club made him the club's top scorer that year but once again, a lack of playing time caused the former Ipswich man to transfer up north to Sunderland. His time in the north east was less successful and he again found it difficult to hold down a first team place. Despite this his goalscoring record looked impressive and he seemed to be making the most of his opportunities when on the pitch. After two years Aston Villa came in with an astonishing £24M bid, breaking the club's transfer record. At Villa Park however, Bent has struggled more than anywhere else and has seen his career take a turn for the worse. No longer among the candidates for England place, he has only scored 25 times in 4 seasons.