Sunderland Sign Sulley Muntari

Sunderland have completed a loan deal to land Inter Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari, the Ghana ace has joined the Black Cats until the end of the season and joins fellow countrymen Asamoah Gyan and John Mensah at Sunderland.

Muntari had been plying his trade in the Serie A with current European champions Inter Milan and could make his debut against Stoke next weekend.

Steve Bruce spoke of his delight at landing Muntari with his first signing of the January transfer window.

"Sulley is a fabulous acquisition for the club," Sunderland's manager told his club's official website.

"When the opportunity arises to bring in a player of his ability, even in the short term, you have to take it and I'm delighted we've been able to.

Speaking on Muntari’s ability to adapt to most positions, he added;

"His adaptability is a great asset. He did extremely well at Portsmouth so he knows the Premier League well and you have to be some player to move to Inter Milan for the fee that he did. He's a great addition.

"If you had said to me six months ago that we'd be looking at Sulley Muntari who had just won the Champions League I would have said 'not a chance'.

"This is an ideal opportunity to bring in a top-class midfield player who moved to Inter for about €17m. To bring him in now can only give the club a lift."

Darren Bent Justifies His Price Tag

Darren Bent hit the winner for Aston Villa yesterday against Manchester City.  This was after an eventful week when a feud between Bent’s former manager Steve Bruce and current manager Gerard Houllier had erupted around the sale of Bent's transfer from Sunderland to Aston Villa last week.

Steve Bruce suggested that Aston Villa had approached Darren Bent long before the deal went through and is not happy on how Gerard Houllier went about pursuing Darren Bent after the striker handed in a written transfer request.

Gerard Houllier hailed the striker, scoring on is debut and repaying a slice of 24m Villa paid for his service after media critics were baffled by the move suggesting that he’s not worth that much.

Speaking after the game, Houllier said; "I thought the boy handled the pressure very well."

"The finish was that of a natural-born finisher, something you cannot teach somebody. That is what he is here for."

The England striker hit the only goal of the game yesterday when Manchester City’s Joe Hart could only parry Ashley Young’s shot into the path of Bent, who was on hand to tap in the rebound on his debut.

The striker said; "People questioned why I joined this football club but look at the players around me," said the striker, who was watched at Villa Park by England manager Fabio Capello.

"Ashley Young, Gabby Agbonlahor, Mark Albrighton and Stewart Downing are all players that can create chances out of nothing and as a striker you want that kind of service,"

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Steve Bruce Slams Bent & Houllier

Sunderland Manager Steve Bruce has slammed Gerard Houllier over Darren Bent’s move to Aston Villa. Bruce has accused Houllier of approaching the striker long before the deal went through.

Bruce insists a top class manager would have shown respect and called him to say they were interested in the forward but up until this point he still hasn’t received a phone call from the Frenchman.

The Black Cats boss also admitted that Bent want to leave for Turkey last summer but the he managed to convince the England international to stay.

"I would have thought out of respect and a manager of his status, I would have thought maybe a phone call from him to say 'Listen Steve, we're after your centre forward and your striker.'

"I would have thought, maybe that might have been the way forward, it usually is with the great managers I've had the pleasure to deal with in the past, that's usually the case.

"But in this, so the whole thing has disappointed us and I thought we'd averted it last summer - he (Bent) wanted to go to Turkey last summer and we averted it then.

"So, it's the timing for me - if I'd have known four weeks beforehand or five, six weeks beforehand from his agent or Darren that they were unhappy at the club and wanted to move on then I wouldn't be in a position that I'm in now, with ten days before the window ended and with an injury to Danny Welbeck, that's put us in the situation that we're in and it gives you very little time to try and do anything.

"So it's the timing of it and that's the disappointing thing - all Benty's thought of is himself but I suppose that's football and that's the way it is."

"There's a lot of people bitterly upset and disappointed, and rightly so.

"My big disappointment of course is Gerard Houllier too who up until this time now, I still haven't had a phone call from.

Bruce said he was shocked when Darren Bent handed in a written transfer request, just as the club and fans were, "I think what shocked us all was the written transfer request with Benty that it was so brutal, you know.

"And then in my experience with him, what's the point of keeping someone who doesn't really want to be here.

"I have to say in the last few weeks we have all been scratching our heads saying 'has there been something wrong with Benty, he doesn't look himself'.

"But we didn't see it coming and, yes, we were quite within our right to do that, but in my experience of these things, what is the point?"

Bruce: Bent Let Club Down

Steve Bruce has admitted that he feels, the club and the fans have been let down by Darren Bent’s decision to leave Sunderland for Aston Villa, Bent joined the Midlands outfit this afternoon in a £18 million deal after he rocked the club by handing in a written transfer request.

"It's hugely disappointing that Darren has decided that his future lies away from Sunderland and the players, our supporters and the club as a whole have every right to feel massively let down," he told the club's official website.

"The timing is especially hard to take, given that we are progressing positively and are in a great position to push on.

"Everyone has been nothing but supportive of Darren in has time at Sunderland but it's obvious he's not been himself in training.

"We've certainly not seen the best of him in games in recent weeks - and we now understand why.

On building the Club, Steve Bruce added; "I've always stated that my aim is to build a talented, young squad for the long-term to help the club achieve sustained success.

"I want Sunderland fans to know that our ambitions haven't changed on that front."

Darren Bent Joins Aston Villa

Aston Villa have today confirmed the signing of Darren Bent from Sunderland for a fee believed to be £18million, the striker has signed up on a four-and-a-half year deal at Villa Park.

Steve Bruce was reluctant to let his star striker leave and the hit man has already bagged eleven goals this season, Bent will be available to make his debut for Gerard Houllier's side in Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester City.

Speaking on the Villa’s official website, Darren Bent said; “Aston Villa is a massive club and as soon as I knew they were interested in signing me I wanted to join,"

"The size of the football club and the history of the club are major reasons for me coming here.

"There are some top, top players here too, real quality, and I've been able to speak to the manager and the chairman about their ambitions for the club, so I'm very excited about being a part of what we hope to achieve."