Aston Villa's Paul Lambert turns to Darren Bent sale for funds
Villa manager Paul Lambert is hoping the unexpected sale of Darren Bent could boost a transfer kitty frozen by owner Randy Lerner.
Bent has a year remaining on his Villa deal and is due back at the club after spending last season on loan at Fulham. But Turkish clubs Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce are both on the trail of the 30-year-old former England striker, which could give Villa a last-ditch pay-back in the club's most expensive outlay of the Premier League age.
Lambert needs every penny he can muster this summer, with Lerner restricting spending as he tries to sell the club.
As little as £10m is said to have been made available to the manager, which left the club unable to compete for the signature of Albion's major signing of the summer so far, Joleon Lescott.
Joe Cole admitted he took a huge cut in his salary to join Villa. Defender Phillipe Senderos is another modest recruit. Lambert has also abandoned any hopes of pursuing previous targets Lewis Holtby and Javier Hernandez.
Bent, who signed from Sunderland for £18m in 2011, may prefer a move away from Villa having endured a frosty relationship with Lambert. He was one of four players who made up the original 'bomb squad'.
