With Darren Bent turning down the opportunity to take home £75,000 per week next season at West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur are the only club left that have expressed an interested in the player to Charlton via the media.  Not only is Bent's refusal to join the Hammers a risk on his part, it also throws up some questions regarding why he decided against the move.

Is he convinced that Tottenham are willing to meet the asking price?  Are there other clubs eyeing the striker?  What it does mean is that there's a chance that no-one meets the price, no-one else is interested and that he'll be a Championship player with Charlton come August.

Other questions that I feel need clarifying are 'When will he play?', 'Who with?' and 'Does Martin Jol drop a working goal-machine partnership of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov?'

'Is Bent really wanting to join Tottenham because he feels it's the best career move or is he hoping that a bigger club will come in at the 11th hour to save him from a Championship nightmare?'


To throw money at a player with a great record (over a goal every three games at Charlton), would Jol turn to Robbie or Dimitar and say "Thanks for last season, fight for your place"?  Could he then justify having Jermain Defoe plus one sitting on the bench under Bent in the pecking order?  Or more importantly, could he put a £17 million purchase next to him?  (all assuming the inevitable happens to Mido).

Or am I over-complicating things? Is Bent really wanting to join Tottenham because he feels it's the best career move or is he hoping that a bigger club will come in at the 11th hour to save him from a Championship nightmare?

Could it be that he's simply looking at a progressing team, verging on the top four, with youthful talent from top to bottom, thinking that we're either the best chance of silverware or simply a stepping-stone to a future elsewhere?