McLeish rules out Bent sale

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish said the club have no plans to sell striker Darren Bent.

There has been speculation over the England international’s future in recent weeks, and he has been recently linked with QPR.

Rumours were fuelled when Bent was seen out shopping in the 2-0 loss at home to Liverpool while he was out with a thigh injury.

The striker has scored five goals this season, falling short of the rate he sustained in the second half of last term when he netted nine times after a club record 18 million pounds move from Sunderland.

McLeish had earlier spoken of the need to sell players in order to free up money for new signings, but he has now moved to clarify that this does not involve the sale of Bent, telling reporters: “I wouldn’t think anybody can afford Darren.”

“It would send out the wrong message unless we went out and signed Luis Suarez or something. A striker of Darren’s ability would be difficult to replace,” McLeish said.

“His goals last season were a vital part of Villa’s season in terms of keeping them up.”

On his transfer strategy, McLeish continued: “I’ve always said, since the start of the season, that we have got to trade carefully. It is very much a kind of juggling of the balls at the moment.”

“That means I can’t just go into the market without there being a kind of balance. I’m not willing to sell anybody at the moment, but you just don’t know what will happen.”

The most pressing area of concern for McLeish appears to be in central midfield.

Jermaine Jenas, on loan from Tottenham, saw his season ended by injury, while Jean Makoun was loaned out to Olympiakos.

This has left options for partners for captain Stiliyan Petrov limited to the injury-troubled Stephen Ireland, the inexperienced Fabian Delph and Barry Bannan, and versatile young defenders Chris Herd and Ciaran Clark.

However, McLeish suggested that he is prioritising the attack.

“I wouldn’t be tempted to lose any of the strikers. That was something that badly affected Birmingham City last year.”

“We lost Nikola Zigic after the Carling Cup final and Obafemi Martins breaking his leg was a massive blow to that club. People say that strikers make the difference in this league.”

Villa travel to Stoke on Boxing Day, with a trip to Chelsea to follow on New Year’s Eve.

“It’s a challenge for the players in terms of their mental toughness,” he said.

“They have to be of the mentality to get through it.”

“But Stoke also play good football. They play to their strengths. They do it well and Tony Pulis and Stoke are a great example of stability at a club and building it over a period of time.”