Post by QPR Report on Jul 31, 2009 6:11:38 GMT
Guardian/Jacob Steinberg
Darren Bent uses Twitter to attack Daniel Levy over Sunderland talks• Bent frustrated that move to Sunderland is dragging on
• Tottenham investigate obscene Twitter message to Levy
Frustrated with how long it is taking to complete his move to Sunderland, Darren Bent has sent a foul-mouthed message to the Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy via Twitter. Bent is upset that Levy is still stalling over the price Sunderland must pay to sign him, and has made his desperation to leave White Hart Lane abundantly clear.
Tottenham bought Bent for £16.5m from Charlton Athletic two years ago, and Levy is keen to recoup that figure. With Sunderland only willing to go up to £15m, the slow pace of the transfer has left the striker at his wit's end.
Writing on his Twitter page, Bent said: ""Seriously getting p***** off now," was the message posted at lunchtime, followed by "Why can't anything be simple. It's so frustrating hanging round doing jack s***.
"Do I wanna go Hull City NO. Do I wanna go stoke NO do I wanna go sunderland YES so stop f****** around, Levy. Sunderland are not the problem in the slightest."
Tottenham issued a curt response to the post and are investigating the account's origins, although a spokesman for Umbro, Bent's sponsors, confirmed it is genuine. If so, Bent will be even keener for his switch to Wearside to go through.
"We have put calls in to Darren's agent. We are trying to establish whether the Twitter account is Darren's. It it does turn out to be, we'll deal with that internally," said Donna Cullen, a Tottenham board member.
Bent was pulled from the plane on Monday as Tottenham prepared to travel to China for their Far-East tour, a sign that an end to negotiations was near, but there has been little progress since then. He was Tottenham's top scorer last season with 17 goals, yet fell out of favour with his manager, Harry Redknapp, after missing an open goal in a draw against Portsmouth. The signing of Peter Crouch from Portsmouth for £9m earlier this week has pushed Bent down the pecking order and Sunderland offer him a fresh start.
The 25-year-old striker is not the first sportsman to find himself in hot water after using Twitter. The Australian cricketer, Philip Hughes, was warned yesterday by his bosses after revealing that he had been dropped from the team to face England in the third Ashes Test before an official announcement had been made.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jul/31/tottenham-darren-bent-sunderland-twitter-daniel-levy
Darren Bent uses Twitter to attack Daniel Levy over Sunderland talks• Bent frustrated that move to Sunderland is dragging on
• Tottenham investigate obscene Twitter message to Levy
Frustrated with how long it is taking to complete his move to Sunderland, Darren Bent has sent a foul-mouthed message to the Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy via Twitter. Bent is upset that Levy is still stalling over the price Sunderland must pay to sign him, and has made his desperation to leave White Hart Lane abundantly clear.
Tottenham bought Bent for £16.5m from Charlton Athletic two years ago, and Levy is keen to recoup that figure. With Sunderland only willing to go up to £15m, the slow pace of the transfer has left the striker at his wit's end.
Writing on his Twitter page, Bent said: ""Seriously getting p***** off now," was the message posted at lunchtime, followed by "Why can't anything be simple. It's so frustrating hanging round doing jack s***.
"Do I wanna go Hull City NO. Do I wanna go stoke NO do I wanna go sunderland YES so stop f****** around, Levy. Sunderland are not the problem in the slightest."
Tottenham issued a curt response to the post and are investigating the account's origins, although a spokesman for Umbro, Bent's sponsors, confirmed it is genuine. If so, Bent will be even keener for his switch to Wearside to go through.
"We have put calls in to Darren's agent. We are trying to establish whether the Twitter account is Darren's. It it does turn out to be, we'll deal with that internally," said Donna Cullen, a Tottenham board member.
Bent was pulled from the plane on Monday as Tottenham prepared to travel to China for their Far-East tour, a sign that an end to negotiations was near, but there has been little progress since then. He was Tottenham's top scorer last season with 17 goals, yet fell out of favour with his manager, Harry Redknapp, after missing an open goal in a draw against Portsmouth. The signing of Peter Crouch from Portsmouth for £9m earlier this week has pushed Bent down the pecking order and Sunderland offer him a fresh start.
The 25-year-old striker is not the first sportsman to find himself in hot water after using Twitter. The Australian cricketer, Philip Hughes, was warned yesterday by his bosses after revealing that he had been dropped from the team to face England in the third Ashes Test before an official announcement had been made.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jul/31/tottenham-darren-bent-sunderland-twitter-daniel-levy