Sunderland Target Tottenham Star Roman Pavlyuchenko As Spurs Get £4m Windfall From Darren Bent's Move To Aston Villa

Spurs could step up Suarez bid as a result of north-east twist.
Sunderland have made Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko their top target to replace Darren Bent - and could hand Spurs a £4 million windfall from the sale of their star man.

Bent is in line to complete a sensational move to Villa Park in a deal that could be worth a total of £24m after he submitted a written transfer request following Sunday's 1-1 draw with Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby.

But Spurs are set for a cash boost from the deal worth around £4m under the terms of his transfer to Sunderland from White Hart Lane in July 2009 – and will finally recoup the full £16.5m they paid Charlton for his services two years earlier.

The 26-year-old cost the Black Cats an initial £10m, rising to £16.5m with additional performance-related payments which will all be due to Spurs if he leaves Sunderland for more than that sum.

And the Londoners could be set to benefit even more from Bent's proposed move as Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has made Spurs ace Pavlyuchenko one of his main targets as he prepares for the departure of his top goalscorer.