Darren Bent has revealed that West Ham United flew him back early from a holiday in Miami in an attempt to sign him in 2007, but the overbearing approach of the club's Icelandic owners ultimately led him to join Tottenham Hotspur instead.
Bent's Early Career and Move to Charlton
Having started his professional career at Ipswich Town, Bent made a name for himself in the Premier League with Charlton Athletic under manager Alan Curbishley. He scored 22 goals in all competitions during the 2005/06 season, but his 13 league goals the following campaign were not enough to prevent Charlton from suffering relegation.
In the summer of 2007, Bent sought a return to top-flight football. While on holiday in Miami, he was approached by West Ham, then managed by his former boss Curbishley. Bent claims the club paid for him to cut his holiday short and fly back to London. However, the move to east London fell through, and he instead signed for Tottenham for a then-club-record fee of £16.5 million.
Speaking on the Podcast
Speaking on the podcast In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet, Bent said: "It was a really hard decision for me. Curbishley was the manager at West Ham. I flew back from Miami early, which was paid for, and went to West Ham's stadium to meet Curbs."
He added: "He was on my case all summer saying, 'Benty, Charlton have just gone down, you know me, this football club, just come, fly back early.' I went, 'For you Curbs, I'll come back early.'"
The Icelandic Owners' Pressure
Bent explained that the club was then owned by Icelandic businessmen Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson and Eggert Magnusson. "They were throwing money around like it was going out of fashion. The wages they were throwing around were like…"
But there was a reason he turned them down. "So I flew back, I was tired and I almost said to Curbs, 'Just give me 24 hours to go back and have a conversation with my dad.' Because Spurs were there as well."
Bent continued: "In terms of football decisions, from the very start, I've always had a conversation with my dad. Anyway, we got shown around West Ham's stadium and stuff but then I said to the owner, 'Just give me 24 hours to think about it, I'm tired, I've just come back from Miami.'"
"He was like, 'No, you either sign now or you can forget it.' He was quite, not agitated, but he wanted the deal done now. I was like, 'Relax, let me think about it.' That kind of put me and my dad off. When we left there, he was messaging my agent saying, 'No, the deal is off if he doesn't want to commit now.' All of this. In the end, that just put me off."
Decision to Join Tottenham
Bent recalled: "I remember having a conversation with Curbs, saying, 'Listen, you know how much I respect you and want to play for you again, but that's put me off. That's not okay, so I'm going to go to Tottenham.' That's why I ended up going to Spurs."
Bent's time at White Hart Lane was mixed. He scored 18 goals in 60 Premier League appearances over two seasons but often found himself on the bench. He left in 2009 for Sunderland, where he thrived, and later played for Aston Villa, Fulham, Brighton, Derby County, and Burton Albion before retiring in 2019.
