Pardew: Bent will stay
08 Jan 2007 - 11:20:32
Charlton Athletic manager Alan Pardew insists he has no plans to sell star striker Darren Bent.
The former West Ham United and Reading boss was quoted as saying last week that he would be prepared to listen to offers for his top scorer, but now says Bent is not for sale.
Bent is currently recovering from a knee injury and the Addicks boss believes he will return to action sooner than was originally anticipated.
"I merely said if his injury isn't clearing up how we think it is, then it might be a problem for me to keep him because I want to keep Charlton in the Premiership," said Pardew.
"The good news is Darren's injury seems to be clearing up faster than we thought. So Darren will stay here until the end of the year.
"We feel a lot more optimistic he's going to return within three or four weeks, rather than six or seven."
Pardew told Sky Sports News last week, when asked of Tottenham's desire to sign the 22-year-old striker: "It sounds like his price has dropped if you're thinking £7million, because £7million isn't going to touch the sides for Darren Bent.
"This is a top-class player in my view. After watching him for just a week and a bit, he's an England player and that's how he should set his goals.
"His injury at the moment gives us a problem. We cannot afford to have him out of the team for five weeks, so I'm having to assess it and weigh up all the situations and I'll have to do what's right for Charlton.
"We're trying to locate a striker to replace him, so we'll see. But, certainly the figures for Darren Bent being bandied around are way too low."