Darren Ashley Bent (born 6 February 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker and is currently a radio presenter for talkSPORT.

He was Charlton Athletic's top goalscorer for two consecutive seasons and joined Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record fee of £16.5 million in 2007.

Bent progressed through Ipswich Town's youth system, having joined the club at age 14 in 1998, after considering a possible career in athletics.

[11] He once again helped Ipswich challenge for promotion during the following season, continuing his goal scoring form alongside strike partner Shefki Kuqi.

[21] Bent completed a move to Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record fee of £16.5 million on 29 June 2007, which was to be payable over three years and is inclusive of add-on payments.

[25] Bent was an unused substitute for the 2008 League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on 24 February, as Tottenham beat Chelsea 2–1 after extra time.

[31] He scored a header in the second half of Tottenham's UEFA Cup first round match against Wisła Kraków, giving the team a 2–1 victory.

"[35] On 31 January, Bent scored two goals in the period of two minutes against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium after coming on as a second-half substitute, in a match that eventually finished as a 3–2 defeat.

[39] The deal seemed delayed and through social networking website Twitter he accused club chairman Daniel Levy of disrupting his move to Sunderland, although Bent later apologised, saying he acted out of frustration.

[57] On 17 January 2011, Bent submitted a transfer request, amid reports that Aston Villa had made a club-record £18 million bid for him, which was rejected.

[61] Bent scored his second Villa goal in his third appearance for his team when he completed the full 90 minutes against Manchester United at Old Trafford in a 3–1 away defeat.

[63] He finished the season with 9 goals in 16 Premier League appearances for Villa, becoming the club's joint top-scorer with Ashley Young, despite only joining in January.

[64] He was also the top English goalscorer in the Premier League and the fourth highest scorer overall that season with 17 goals,[65] eight of which were scored for Sunderland.

[66] In his first match against former club Sunderland, a 2–2 draw at the Stadium of Light on 29 October 2011, every time he received a touch on the ball, he was booed by the home support.

[71] Bent made his return as a 78th-minute substitute in the match against Chelsea on 31 December 2011, scoring the third goal to seal a 3–1 win at Stamford Bridge.

[73] Three days later, Bent scored his 100th Premier League goal as Villa came from behind to earn a 2–2 home draw against Queens Park Rangers.

[77] Bent had recovered from his injury by mid-May and was in contention for Villa's final match of 2011–12 against Norwich City but was ultimately left out.

[82] Bent lost the Villa captaincy to Ron Vlaar, after the Dutchman was appointed captain for the 2–0 victory against Swansea City on 15 September 2012 and thereafter.

[87] He scored his first goal for Fulham on 24 August 2013 on his debut, 18 minutes after replacing Damien Duff in a 3–1 defeat at home to London rivals Arsenal.

[88] On 24 September, only three minutes after coming on for Adel Taarabt, he scored the winner in a 2–1 home win over Everton in the third round of the League Cup.

[89] Again as a late substitute, this time for Dimitar Berbatov, he scored the only goal in Fulham's home league win over Stoke City on 5 October, taking control of Pajtim Kasami's shot and cutting past Robert Huth.

[100] He was released by Aston Villa on 8 June 2015,[101] ahead of a permanent transfer to Derby on a two-year contract, with a one-year option.

[108] 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.

[123] His England debut eventually came on 1 March 2006, when he started against Uruguay at Anfield in a pre-2006 FIFA World Cup friendly match.

[129] He was called up to the team for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Ukraine in March 2009 following an injury to striker Carlton Cole.

[133] Bent scored his first international goal in England's 3–1 away win over Switzerland after appearing as a substitute for Jermain Defoe in a Euro 2012 qualifier on 7 September 2010.

[134] Then-England manager Fabio Capello stated he had been impressed with the improvement in Bent's all-round game since his World Cup omission[135] and selected him in the starting 11 for England's friendly with Denmark, where he scored a tap-in from a Theo Walcott cross.

Bent retained his place for England's Euro 2012 qualifier with Wales to make his first competitive international start on 26 March 2011.

[142] At the age of 10, he moved to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, where he attended Hinchingbrooke School and played in the Godmanchester Rovers youth system.

[146] 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.