Bent Earns His Spurs

They took their time, but the respective Boards of Charlton and Spurs have finally agreed a fee for Darren Bent, namely £15.5m upfront (in instalments) and a further £1m in contingencies. Websites in the US are describing it as a '$33million deal' which sounds much more exciting.

As I insisted previously, we were never likely to match the £17m that West Ham supposedly offered and that Charlton insisted was the minimum valuation, but nonetheless we have received a fair price. The effect of the instalments might be material to us however, and it would be interesting to learn the exact basis for them; £15.5m over three years is not the same as £15.5m upfront as any accountant will tell you.

It is rare in football these days for the fans of the selling club not to have any antagonism towards the departing player, but in this case there ought to be good wishes from every Charlton fan (even if I would have liked him to have joined a Champions League club). In every game he played for us he was a model professional, and several cuts above the mediocrity around him. Good luck Darren.