Darren Bent cemented his place as one of the Barclays Premier League's deadliest marksmen with a 25-goal haul for Sunderland in 2009-10.

All but one of those strikes came in the league as Bent finished as the division's second-highest English scorer behind Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, having reached the quarter-century mark in just 40 games.

Bent moved from Tottenham Hotspur in August 2009 and penned a four-year deal after the two clubs agreed a £10m fee.

He became the most expensive player at the Stadium of Light, eclipsing the £9m paid to bring goalkeeper Craig Gordon to the club from Hearts in 2007.

Bent - the club's reigning Player of the Year - scored on his full debut against Bolton Wanderers and didn't look back. He had five multiple-goal games on his way to becoming Sunderland's most prolific scorer since Kevin Phillips.

The likeable striker will also have extra motivation in 2010-11 after he was named in England's provisional party for the 2010 FIFA World Cup only to be cut from the training camp.

Capped six times by his country at senior level, Bent made his name at Ipswich, coming through the club's Academy to debut in October 2001. A first senior goal arrived against Newcastle the same month.

A haul of 55 goals in 116 starts plus a further 25 appearances off the bench attracted the attention of then Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy, however it was Charlton, who tied up a deal with the striker for an initial £2.5m in June 2005.

Ironically, his Charlton debut came against Sunderland in the first game of the 2005/06 campaign at the Stadium of Light. He made an immediate impact bagging two goals in a 3-1 win for the visitors.

He hit the net on 37 occasions from a total of 79 games for the Addicks during a two-year spell in South London before making a big-money move across the capital to Spurs.

The White Hart Lane outfit parted with £16.5m to acquire the player in June 2007, and he scored his first competitive goal against Derby County during August.

The striker - who passed 100 career goals in March 2008 - was Tottenham's top scorer in the 2008/09 season and left White Hart Lane having netted 25 goals in all competitions from 43 starts and a further 36 substitute appearances.

Spurs' loss has been Sunderland's gain as Bent - buoyed by his bumper goal haul in 2009-10 - looks to spearhead a new era at the Stadium of Light.