When Kevin Phillips departed Sunderland for Southampton in 2003, he left the Black Cats without a clinical striker. After all, the frontman found the net on over 100 occasions for the club, 61 of which were scored in the Premier League.
Six years went by and while many had tried to fill the void left by the club legend, none were successful in their attempt to match his consistent exploits in front of goal. That was, until, manager Steve Bruce swooped for Darren Bent five years ago today.
The England international had endured a frustrating spell at Tottenham Hotspur, where he had struggled to break into the starting lineup on a consistent basis. Even so, he still scored 25 goals in 79 outings for the North Londoners and he'd also been prolific for both Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic before that.
His arrival at the Stadium of Light was not a straightforward one, though. Sunderland made their interest known much earlier that summer, but Spurs chairman Daniel Levy played hardball over the fee. So frustrated was Bent that he took to Twitter to air his displeasure at the way that the deal was being handled by his then employers.
However, a £10m deal, which would rise to £16.5m with add-ons, was eventually agreed. It was a record transfer fee paid out by Sunderland, surpassing the £9m that the club parted with to sign goalkeeper Craig Gordon from Hearts in 2007.
Speaking about his new recruit, Bruce said: "He's everything I want. Good things come to those who wait. It has not quite happened for Darren at Spurs, but he has 50 goals in 100 Premier League starts and that speaks volumes about why we are bringing him to the club.
"He's had the competition of the likes of [Dimitar] Berbatov, [Jermain] Defoe and [Robbie] Keane, but he has still scored goals when he's been given games. He's something different - he's got pace, power, he's young, he's English and he gets goals."
Meanwhile, Bent added: "The fans are passionate here and they have a fantastic stadium. It is the perfect place for me to play well and score goals."
And "score goals" Bent did, almost immediately. His debut season in a red and white-striped shirt produced a return of 24 Premier League goals - only Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and Chelsea's Didier Drogba scored more.
A further 11 goals were scored in the first five months of the 2010-11 campaign, but his relationship with the club soured in January 2011. Amid speculation that Aston Villa were keen on his services, Bent handed in a transfer request and following negotiations between the two clubs, he moved to Birmingham for a fee that could potentially rise to £24m.
Bent remains at Villa Park to this day, although he did spend last season on loan with Fulham.
Liam Apicella
