Newcastle United Ready January Bid for Aston Villa Striker Darren Bent
St James' Park side strongly linked with move for Villa Park forward.Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew is readying an exploratory bid for Aston Villa forward Darren Bent as he looks to take advantage of a fractious relationship between the striker and Villa Park boss Paul Lambert.
The Magies boss may be concerned that a side will finally come in to meet Demba Ba's reported £7.5m release clause and is therefore eyeing up potential striking replacements and has always been an admirer of the Aston Villa marksman.
Pardew knows Bent well from his days in charge of Charlton Athletic and the England international has also been linked with an exit due to an apparent frosty relationship with new Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert, an issue the Scot has been keen to deny.
Bent has been a consistent Premier League marksman for a number of years now, scoring regularly for Charlton Athletic, Tottenham, Sunderland and Aston Villa and the 28 year old forward may well be tempted by the chance of a move to Newcastle United, despite his Black Cats affiliation.
Darren Bent has netted 20 goals in 42 starts for the Midlands club since his £18m move from the Stadium of Light back in January 2011.
Paul Lambert has handed Bent just six Premier League starts this season and has been in the manager's starting eleven in the league since October.
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