Derby
Which team did the player Darren Bent belong to from 2015 to 2018?
Darren Bent Darren Ashley Bent ( born 6 February 1984 ) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker . He played in the Premier League and Football League for nine clubs , and at senior international level for the England national team . Bent started his career with Godmanchester Rovers before being scouted by Ipswich Town . After progressing through their youth system , he made his first-team debut in 2001 . He made 122 appearances and scored 48 goals in the league for Ipswich , before joining Charlton Athletic for a fee of £2.5 million in 2005 . He was Charlton Athletics top goalscorer for two consecutive seasons and joined Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record fee of £16.5 million in 2007 . After two seasons at Tottenham , he joined Sunderland . After a successful 18 months at Sunderland , he joined Aston Villa in 2011 . Bent had loans with Fulham , Brighton & Hove Albion and Derby County , and after being released by Villa in 2015 , joined Derby permanently . Bent represented England at under-15 , under-16 , under-19 , under-21 and senior levels . He made 14 appearances and scored 9 goals for the under-21 team after making his debut against Italy in 2003 . He made his debut for the senior England team in 2006 against Uruguay , and went on to make 13 appearances for England , scoring four goals . He scored his first goal on 7 September 2010 in a 3–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match victory against Switzerland . Club career . Ipswich Town . Bent progressed through Ipswich Towns youth system , having joined the club at age 14 in 1998 , after considering a possible career in athletics . He signed a professional contract with Ipswich on 2 July 2001 . He made his first-team debut on 1 November 2001 in a 3–1 victory against Helsingborg in the UEFA Cup , and scored his first senior goal in a 4–1 League Cup defeat to Newcastle United on 27 November 2001 . Bent scored his first Premier League goal on 24 April 2002 in a 1–0 win over Middlesbrough . He finished the 2001–02 season with seven appearances and two goals in all competitions , and also saw his team Ipswich face relegation into the First Division . He became a key part of Ipswichs first-team squad during the 2002–03 season . He scored his first goal of the season on 24 August , scoring the equalizing goal in a 1–1 draw with Millwall . On 31 October 2002 he scored the winning goal against Slovan Liberec in the UEFA Cup . On 2 March he scored in a 2–0 win against Norwich City in the East Anglian derby . Bent finished the 2002–03 season with 18 goals , while also winning Ipswichs Young Player of the Year award . Bent signed a new contract with Ipswich on 13 June 2003 , signing a deal until June 2006 . He continued to feature regularly during the 2003–04 season . On 16 March , he scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over Walsall . Ipswich finished 5th in the league in the 2003–04 season , eventually losing out to West Ham United over two legs in the play-offs , with Bent scoring the winning goal in the first-leg as Ipswich won 1–0 at Portman Road , before losing the second-leg 0–2 . Bent finished the season as Ipswichs top-scorer with 16 goals . He once again helped Ipswich challenge for promotion during the following season , continuing his goal scoring form alongside strike partner Shefki Kuqi . Ipswich finished 3rd in the 2004–05 season , narrowly missing out on automatic promotion by two points , before losing out to West Ham United in the play-off semi-finals for the second consecutive season . He finished the season with 20 goals , being the teams joint highest goalscorer along with Shefki Kuqi . Charlton Athletic . Bent completed a transfer to Charlton Athletic on 1 June 2005 , which was worth an initial fee of £2.5 million , but would have risen to £3 million if he made an agreed number of appearances for Charlton and for England . On the opening day of the 2005–06 Premier League season , Bent scored two goals on his Charlton debut against Sunderland , and was named Premier League Player of the Month for August . He scored in his first four appearances for the club , one of only six players to perform this feat in the Premier League . Bent was the highest scoring Englishman in the Premier League in 2005–06 , with 18 goals ( 22 overall ) , which made him third highest scorer and was given Charltons Player of the Year award . He signed an extension to his contract at Charlton in July , which contracted him until June 2010 . Bent finished 2006–07 with 13 goals in the Premier League , again finishing as Charltons top goalscorer , but was unable to prevent them from being relegated into the Championship after seven successive seasons of Premier League football . Charlton accepted a bid from West Ham United for him in June 2007 , but Bent was not interested in a move to the club . Tottenham Hotspur . Bent completed a move to Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record fee of £16.5 million on 29 June 2007 , which was to be payable over three years and is inclusive of add-on payments . Ipswich were entitled to 20% of Charltons profit on Bent under a sell-on clause , which gave the club an initial £2.58 million . He scored his first competitive goal for Tottenham in a 4–0 home victory over Derby County in August 2007 . This was followed up by scoring in the 6–1 win over Anorthosis Famagusta in the first round of the UEFA Cup on 20 September 2007 . Bent was an unused substitute for the 2008 League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on 24 February , as Tottenham beat Chelsea 2–1 after extra time . He scored his 100th career goal on 9 March 2008 in the added time of a 4–0 league win over West Ham . He also scored the 100th goal to be scored at White Hart Lane during 2007–08 on 22 March in a 2–0 win over Portsmouth . Bent went on to score one more goal in the 2007–08 season , against Newcastle United , which he finished with 36 appearances and 8 goals . Bent scored 12 goals for Tottenham during the 2008–09 pre-season . His first league goal of the season came against Chelsea , which gave his team a 1–1 draw . He scored a header in the second half of Tottenhams UEFA Cup first round match against Wisła Kraków , giving the team a 2–1 victory . On 6 November , in a match against Dinamo Zagreb , Bent scored his first competitive hat-trick for Tottenham . He followed this up with two goals in a 2–1 victory against Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium . A miss in front of an open goal in the final minutes during a home match against Portsmouth in January 2009 , which cost Tottenham two points , prompted manager Harry Redknapp to claim , You will never get a better chance to win a match than that . My missus could have scored that one . On 31 January , Bent scored two goals in the period of two minutes against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium after coming on as a second-half substitute , in a match that eventually finished as a 3–2 defeat . Following the return of striker Robbie Keane at Tottenham , Redknapp assured Bent of his future at the club . He finished the season as Tottenhams top goalscorer with 17 goals in 43 matches . Sunderland . Sunderland opened negotiations to sign Bent in July 2009 . The deal seemed delayed and through social networking website Twitter he accused club chairman Daniel Levy of disrupting his move to Sunderland , although Bent later apologised , saying he acted out of frustration . He travelled to Sunderland to sign for the club after they agreed a fee with Tottenham , and after passing a medical , Bent signed for Sunderland on 5 August for an initial fee of £10 million plus potential additional payments , which later rose to £16.5 million . He scored on his Sunderland debut , which was the only goal in a 1–0 victory against Bolton , and was followed with Sunderlands opening goal against Chelsea in a 3–1 defeat . He scored a brace in the 4–1 win over Hull City to give himself his third and fourth goals in five matches . Bent scored Sunderlands only goal against Burnley at Turf Moor , making the score 1–1 , before losing 3–1 . He scored again in a 5–2 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers , although after the match , Sunderland manager Steve Bruce was left angry at Bents decision to give Sunderlands second penalty kick to teammate Kenwyne Jones , after the latter pleaded with Bent to take the penalty so that he could get on the score sheet . Bent scored in a 1–0 victory against Liverpool on 17 October 2009 when his shot hit a beach ball thrown onto the field by a Liverpool fan and past confused goalkeeper Pepe Reina into the net . He scored his first hat-trick for Sunderland in a 4–0 victory over Bolton on 9 March 2010 . He scored two goals , one a penalty , but missed two other penalties as they were saved by Heurelho Gomes in a 3–1 victory against former club Tottenham on 3 April . Bent finished the 2009–10 season with 25 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions , 24 of which came in the Premier League , amounting to 50% of Sunderlands 48 goals in the league that season . He was named as Sunderlands Player of the Year . Bent made his first appearance of 2010–11 in the opening match , a 2–2 draw with Birmingham City on 14 August and opened the scoring with a penalty in the 24th minute . He scored the winning goal with stoppage time penalty as Sunderland beat Manchester City 1–0 on 29 August . Bent scored the equaliser during stoppage time to earn Sunderland a 1–1 draw against Arsenal on 18 September . He then scored twice in Sunderlands 2–2 draw at Liverpool . Aston Villa . On 17 January 2011 , Bent submitted a transfer request , amid reports that Aston Villa had made a club-record £18 million bid for him , which was rejected . Villa then submitted an improved offer of £18 million , potentially rising to £24 million , which was then accepted . The following day , Bent completed his move to Villa and signed a four-and-a-half-year deal . He scored the winning goal on his debut against Manchester City in a 1–0 victory at Villa Park . Bent scored his second Villa goal in his third appearance for his team when he completed the full 90 minutes against Manchester United at Old Trafford in a 3–1 away defeat . Bent scored both of Villas goals in their 2–1 away victory over Arsenal in the penultimate match of the season on 15 May . The first was a nicely crafted volley after he chested down a Kyle Walker chipped pass , with the second coming a few minutes later after a slip from Arsenals Thomas Vermaelen allowed Ashley Young the time to thread a pass through the Gunners defence and Bent to sidefoot home for 2–0 . He finished the season with 9 goals in 16 Premier League appearances for Villa , becoming the clubs joint top-scorer with Ashley Young , despite only joining in January . He was also the top English goalscorer in the Premier League and the fourth highest scorer overall that season with 17 goals , eight of which were scored for Sunderland . In his first full season with Villa , Bent scored his first goal of the season against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–1 victory on 20 August 2011 . In his first match against former club Sunderland , a 2–2 draw at the Stadium of Light on 29 October 2011 , every time he received a touch on the ball , he was booed by the home support . Bent then suffered an injury during the match against Bolton and was out for the next few matches as a result . Bent caused controversy when a fan posted a picture and claimed the striker was out shopping while his teammates were losing 2–0 to Liverpool . It was later revealed Bent had been sent home to recover from his injury and afterwards he apologised to the Villa fans for his actions . After apologising , Villa manager Alex McLeish reacted angrily to the conspiracy theory over Bents absence for Villa . This led to Bent having to deny a fall-out with McLeish . Bent made his return as a 78th-minute substitute in the match against Chelsea on 31 December 2011 , scoring the third goal to seal a 3–1 win at Stamford Bridge . After not scoring in the next two matches , Bent went on a run by scoring in the next four matches for Villa , including his first FA Cup goal in a Villa shirt on 29 January 2012 , against Arsenal in an eventual 3–2 defeat . Three days later , Bent scored his 100th Premier League goal as Villa came from behind to earn a 2–2 home draw against Queens Park Rangers . He was the 21st player to reach the milestone . On 25 February 2012 , in a match against Wigan Athletic , Bent landed awkwardly on his ankle after tangling with Antolín Alcaraz . He was stretchered off the pitch with what was thought to be a serious injury . This was confirmed two days later , after Bent had a scan on his ankle that revealed he had ruptured ligaments . He was out for three months which effectively ended his season with Villa and most likely his chance to play at UEFA Euro 2012 . Bent had recovered from his injury by mid-May and was in contention for Villas final match of 2011–12 against Norwich City but was ultimately left out . This also gave him the possibility of making new England manager Roy Hodgsons Euro 2012 England squad . Bent vowed to prove his fitness to Hodgson , in the hope he would be selected to play in the tournament . Bent once again finished as Villas top scorer with 10 goals in 25 appearances and vowed to stay on at the club . On 28 August , Bent scored his first goal of 2012–13 in a 3–0 victory over League One team Tranmere Rovers in the second round of the League Cup , his first goal for Villa since February 2012 . Bent lost the Villa captaincy to Ron Vlaar , after the Dutchman was appointed captain for the 2–0 victory against Swansea City on 15 September 2012 and thereafter . He scored his first league goal of the season on 22 September , in a 4–1 defeat away to Southampton . Bent then lost his starting place for the next league match against West Bromwich Albion , after the performances of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke during the midweek League Cup victory over Manchester City saw the pair start up front . However , after coming on for Benteke as a 68th-minute substitute , Bent followed up his goal against Southampton by grabbing the equaliser in a 1–1 draw . Bent joined Villas Premier League rivals Fulham on a season-long loan on 16 August 2013 . He scored his first goal for Fulham on 24 August 2013 on his debut , 18 minutes after replacing Damien Duff in a 3–1 defeat at home to London rivals Arsenal . On 24 September , only three minutes after coming on for Adel Taarabt , he scored the winner in a 2–1 home win over Everton in the third round of the League Cup . Again as a late substitute , this time for Dimitar Berbatov , he scored the only goal in Fulhams home league win over Stoke City on 5 October , taking control of Pajtim Kasamis shot and cutting past Robert Huth . Despite scoring in the first match and replay against Norwich City in the third round of the FA Cup , Bent went 13 league matches without scoring before an added-time equaliser at Old Trafford to gain a 2–2 draw against Manchester United on 9 February after replacing Muamer Tanković at half-time . He finished his loan with 6 goals in 30 matches , and Fulham were relegated into the Championship . On 26 November 2014 , Bent joined Brighton & Hove Albion on a one-month loan . Three days later , he scored on his debut for the Championship club , opening a 2–1 defeat to his former employers Fulham at Falmer Stadium . Derby County and retirement . After two goals in five appearances for Brighton , Bent was loaned to another Championship club , Derby County , on 2 January 2015 . He was signed by his former international manager Steve McClaren on a deal lasting until the end of the season . With his fourth goal in five matches , he equalised in a 2–2 draw away to then league leaders AFC Bournemouth on 10 February 2015 . Bent scored 12 goals from 17 appearances as Derby finished in eighth place in the Championship table , missing out on a play-off place by one point . He was released by Aston Villa on 8 June 2015 , ahead of a permanent transfer to Derby on a two-year contract , with a one-year option . On 26 January 2018 , Bent joined fellow Championship side Burton Albion on loan for the remainder of the 2017–18 season . He was yet to make a first team appearance for Derby during the 2017–18 season after suffering a pre-season hamstring injury . He scored his first goal for Burton in a 3–1 loss away to Cardiff City on 30 March 2018 . On 21 April 2018 Bent scored a goal against his former club Sunderland as Burton came from a goal down to win 2–1 and condemn the former club to their second relegation in as many seasons . He was released by Derby at the end of the 2017–18 season . Bent announced his retirement from playing on 25 July 2019 . International career . Youth . Bent made his debut for the England national under-15 team on 15 October 1999 as an 85th-minute substitute in a 2–1 win over Northern Ireland in the teams opening match at the 1999 Victory Shield . He started the following match on 28 October 1999 , scoring in the third minute as England beat Wales 3–1 . He played in all three matches , scoring once , as England won the tournament , topping the table with nine points . Bent represented the under-15s at the 2000 Ballymena Tournament , starting in their first match on 24 April , a 1–0 defeat to Switzerland . The following day , he scored Englands four goals in their 4–0 win over Finland . Bent scored in Englands 3–2 win over Belgium on 29 April 2000 in the seventh-place match . He finished his under-15 career with seven goals in eight appearances from 1999 to 2000 . Bent made his under-16 debut on 31 July in their opening match at the 2000 Nordic Cup , coming on as a substitute as England beat Finland 2–1 . He scored in the 52nd minute of Englands 3–0 win over the Faroe Islands on 3 August 2000 , before starting in the final the following day , in which England were beaten 3–0 by Sweden . Bent represented England at the 2001 Algarve Tournament , appearing as a substitute in the teams three matches as they were eliminated at the group stage . He made 11 appearances and scored 3 goals for the under-16s from 2000 to 2001 . His debut for the under-19 team came on 14 February 2002 when starting against Germany in a friendly , scoring two goals in a 3–1 victory . Bent scored in the 33rd minute of a 1–1 draw with Lithuania on 17 April 2002 in the 2002 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification intermediary round first leg , with a 2–1 win in the second leg securing Englands qualification for the tournament . He finished his time with the under-19s with three appearances , scoring three goals , in 2002 . Bents first appearance for the under-21 team came on 11 February 2003 as a 71st-minute substitute against Italy in a friendly , which England lost 1–0 . His first goal came on his second appearance on 2 June 2003 , with an 87th-minute winner in a 3–2 win over Serbia and Montenegro in a friendly . He played in both legs of Englands 3–2 aggregate defeat to France in the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs , and scored in the 55th minute of the 2–1 defeat on 15 November 2005 in the second leg . This was his last appearance for the under-21s , finishing his time with them with 14 appearances and 9 goals . Senior . Bent received his first call up to the senior England team for the friendly against Denmark on 17 August 2005 , but did not play in the match . His England debut eventually came on 1 March 2006 , when he started against Uruguay at Anfield in a pre-2006 FIFA World Cup friendly match . He was not included in Englands World Cup squad when it was announced in May 2006 . Despite having played for the senior team , Bent was recalled to the under-21 squad for their October 2006 qualification play-offs against Germany . Later that month , he was recalled to the senior squad due to an injury to Andrew Johnson shortly after the squads announcement . He was called to the England squad for a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia in November 2007 . He came on as an 80th-minute substitute as England lost 3–2 and failed to qualify for the tournament . He was called up to the team for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Ukraine in March 2009 following an injury to striker Carlton Cole . He made his second start for England in a 1–0 friendly defeat to Brazil on 14 November 2009 . Bent was named in Englands preliminary 30-man squad for the 2010 World Cup on 11 May 2010 , although he was eventually omitted from the final 23-man squad on 1 June . Bent scored his first international goal in Englands 3–1 away win over Switzerland after appearing as a substitute for Jermain Defoe in a Euro 2012 qualifier on 7 September 2010 . Then-England manager Fabio Capello stated he had been impressed with the improvement in Bents all-round game since his World Cup omission and selected him in the starting 11 for Englands friendly with Denmark , where he scored a tap-in from a Theo Walcott cross . Bent retained his place for Englands Euro 2012 qualifier with Wales to make his first competitive international start on 26 March 2011 . In scoring Englands second goal , he took his tally to three goals in his last three matches . Bent recovered from injury in time but was left out of the final 23-man squad for Euro 2012 as then-England manager Roy Hodgson felt Bent would not be fit enough to appear at the tournament . Personal life . Bent was born in Tooting , Greater London , to a family of Jamaican descent . His father , Mervyn Bent , was a player in the youth systems of Wimbledon and Brentford . He moved to Huntingdon , Cambridgeshire at age ten and attended Hinchingbrooke school and played for the Godmanchester Rovers youth system . Bent is a supporter of Arsenal and used to have a season ticket at Highbury . He was handed a formal caution by police in June 2004 after he was alleged to have shot a 12-year-old with a pellet gun . Bent refrains from drinking alcohol and is a Christian . Honours . Tottenham Hotspur - Football League Cup : 2007–08 ; runner-up : 2008–09 England U15 - Victory Shield : 1999 England U16 - Nordic Cup runner-up : 2000 Individual - Ipswich Town Young Player of the Year : 2002–03 - Premier League Player of the Month : August 2005 - Charlton Athletic Player of the Year : 2005–06 - Sunderland Player of the Year : 2009–10