Brentford Bent graduated through the
Brentford youth team ranks, usually playing as a forward. He broke into the first-team at
Griffin Park in
1995–96 under
manager David Webb, helping
the Bees to a 15th-place finish in the
Second Division. Bent was almost ever-present in a successful season that saw Brentford reach the
play-offs in
1996–97 with a fourth-place finish. He played at
Wembley in the
play-off final defeat to
Crewe Alexandra. He was
substituted after 70 minutes for
Scott Canham. Bent then scored five goals in 29 games in
1997–98, as
the Bees struggled in vain to avoid
relegation under
Eddie May and then his replacement
Micky Adams.
Crystal Palace Though not a prolific striker for Brentford, Bent's potential was spotted by
Crystal Palace manager
Steve Coppell, who brought Bent to
Selhurst Park for £300,000 on 8 January 1998. he was sold on to
First Division rivals
Port Vale for £300,000 on 15 January 1999, as one of long-term manager
John Rudge's last purchases. In October 1999, he was sold on to league rivals
Sheffield United for £375,000, with Bell eager to cash in on the £75,000 profit. He later described moving from Crystal Palace to Port Vale as "my dream blown up in my face" as he struggled to adapt to life outside London, referring to the culture shock he said "Someone said 'All right, Duck', which put me on my toes. I thought, 'Why are you calling me Duck?'
Sheffield United Bent became
the Blades top scorer in
1999–2000 with 15 league goals in 32 appearances, including a
hat-trick past
West Bromwich Albion in a 6–0 thrashing at
Bramall Lane on 19 February. The club had struggled under
Adrian Heath before finding an upturn in results after
Neil Warnock stepped into the hot seat in December. He began the
2000–01 campaign in fine form, hitting a hat-trick past
Lincoln City in a 6–1 win in the
League Cup. Former club Crystal Palace reportedly targeted him for a swap deal of
Clinton Morrison and £1.5 million; however, manager
Alan Smith denied that he had made any such offer. He was instead sold to
promotion-chasing
Blackburn Rovers for £2 million in November 2000; the
transfer was seen as good business for both clubs.
Blackburn Rovers Bent scored his first goal for Rovers against bitter
East Lancashire rivals Burnley in a 2–0 win at
Turf Moor on 17 December 2000. He went on to hit 11 goals in 34 appearances in
2000–01, justifying
Graeme Souness's fee, as the
Ewood Park club won promotion back to the Premier League. He made ten goalless appearances in
2001–02, before he was sold on to
Ipswich Town for £3 million in November 2001, which was
Town's fourth biggest transfer fee behind teammates
Matteo Sereni,
Hermann Hreiðarsson, and
Finidi George.
Ipswich Town Despite Bent scoring nine times in 22 league starts,
the Blues were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the
2001–02 season. He stayed at
Portman Road for the
2002–03 campaign, hitting 12 goals in 38 games, as
the Tractor Boys missed out on the play-offs by one place and four points. However, Ipswich entered administration and were forced to sell talent such as
Marcus Stewart,
Titus Bramble, and
Darren Ambrose; a relegation battle was only avoided after manager
George Burley was replaced by
Joe Royle. Ipswich then found another striking talent,
Darren Bent (no relation). Bent joined newly promoted Premier League side
Leicester City on loan for the
2003–04 campaign, in a move that reunited him with manager Micky Adams. Bent scored ten goals in 35 games, though the First Division beckoned for
the Foxes, as the
Walkers Stadium club finished six points behind 17th place
Everton.
Everton Unable to afford his £17,000-per-week
contract, in June 2004, Ipswich sold Bent to Everton for a fee of £450,000;
the Toffees manager
David Moyes said that "he's got athleticism, he's quick, good in the air". He became a regular starter at
Goodison Park in the lone centre-forward role (supported by
Tim Cahill). He only managed seven goals in
2004–05, which were key in securing draws away to
Southampton and at home to
Aston Villa, as well as decisive goals against
Middlesbrough and
Manchester City. Despite having helped the club to secure a place in the
Champions League, Bent became a more peripheral figure in
2005–06, having lost his first-team place to
James Beattie.
Charlton Athletic In January 2006, it was announced that Bent had signed for
Charlton Athletic in a deal worth £2.3 million. He scored on his debut as a substitute against Premier League champions
Chelsea in a 1–1 draw. Bent hit only two goals in 35 games in
2006–07, 13 fewer than strike partner
Darren Bent, who had signed with Charlton from Ipswich. The club had collapsed following the departure of manager
Alan Curbishley after his 15-year reign, and First Division football returned to
The Valley despite the best efforts of
Iain Dowie,
Les Reed and
Alan Pardew.
Loan to Wigan Athletic Bent joined
Wigan Athletic on
Transfer Deadline Day (31 August 2007) on a season-long loan move, one of nine summer signings by boss
Chris Hutchings. However, after a poor start to the campaign, Hutchings was replaced by
Steve Bruce. Bent scored a hat-trick, his first in the Premier League, against former club Blackburn Rovers in a 5–3 win on 15 December;
Roque Santa Cruz also scored a hat-trick in the game, the first time in the Premier League that two opposing players scored hat-tricks in the same match. Despite only hitting seven goals in 32 games, he still became
''the Latics's'' top scorer in
2007–08. At the end of the season, Wigan manager
Steve Bruce chose not to make the deal permanent, feeling Bent was too similar in style to
Emile Heskey; Bent subsequently returned to cash-strapped Charlton, where he was placed on the transfer list.
Birmingham City Bent signed a three-year deal for
Birmingham City in July 2008 for a fee in excess of £1 million, after rejecting the opportunity to join
Cardiff City. He scored three goals from 16 starts and 17 substitute appearances as
Alex McLeish got the club promoted to the Premier League with a second-place finish in
2008–09. He did not feature at the higher level for
the Blues. Instead, he became
Gordon Strachan's first signing for
Middlesbrough when he joined on a two-month loan deal on 30 October 2009, later extended to 16 January 2010. He spent the final three months of the 2009–10 season on loan at a second
Championship club,
Queens Park Rangers, whom he joined in February 2010. Both clubs finished in mid-table, and Bent failed to find the net at either the
Riverside Stadium or
Loftus Road. He was still out of the first-team plans at
St Andrew's; he again moved on loan in August 2010, as he joined
Mick McCarthy's Premier League side
Wolverhampton Wanderers until 4 January 2011. He made five appearances without scoring, before joining
Sheffield United on loan until the end of the
2010–11 season, teaming up with Micky Adams at a third different club. With the Blades in free-fall Bent made ten appearances, mainly from the bench, before returning early to Birmingham in mid-April having failed to score a goal. Birmingham decided against taking up the option of another season, and Bent was released when his contract expired at the end of the 2010–11 season.
Mitra Kukar Bent signed a one-year contract with
Indonesia Super League club
Mitra Kukar on 3 November 2011. In doing so he rejected interest from clubs in England, choosing the
Far East as he "didn't want to be based up north". He was released on 17 April 2012, with the club in mid-table.
Non-league football On 13 September 2017, now aged 39, Bent signed a one-year contract with
Southern Combination League Premier Division club
Wick; club chairman Rodney Lampton said he and Bent had been childhood friends. However, Bent left the club without making an appearance. On 3 January 2020, he joined
Eastern Counties League First Division North club
Cornard United. ==International career==