Darren Bent

Ipswich Town

Bent progressed through Ipswich Town's 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 Ipswich's 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 Ipswich's 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…

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 team's 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 England's four goals in their 4–0 win over Finland. Bent scored in England's 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 England's 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 team's 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…

Club

International

Source:

England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bent goal.

Bent was born in Tooting, Greater London, to a family of Jamaican descent, and grew up in Thornton Heath. His father, Mervyn Bent, was a player in the youth systems of Wimbledon and Brentford. At the age of 10, he moved to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, where he attended Hinchingbrooke School and played in the Godmanchester Rovers youth system. While at school, Bent competed in the long jump for England Schools. His uncle Junior Bent and cousin Cory Bent were also professional footballers. 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. In 2019, Bent appeared on BBC's Celebrity Mastermind and scored a total of three points over two rounds; something he describes as "the worst experience of my life."