COLCHESTER striker Chris Iwelumo will today be unveiled at Charlton Athletic, which could pave the way for the departure of Darren Bent.

By Carl Marston

COLCHESTER striker Chris Iwelumo will today be unveiled at Charlton Athletic, which could pave the way for the departure of Darren Bent.

That will mean a possible £2.5m cash windfall for Ipswich Town as part of the deal for the former Blues striker.

Ipswich will receive 20% of any profit above the £2.6m Charlton paid when they bought the England striker in August 2005. The EADT understands that Iwelumo, whose two-year contract with the U's expired at the end of last season, will sign a three-year deal at the Valley, and enjoy a reunion with his former U's boss, Phil Parkinson.

Charlton have just been relegated from the Premiership, and so will be playing at the same level as Colchester next season.

However, the Addicks were able to offer Iwelumo a far more lucrative contract than the U's could ever dream of offering - all the three relegated clubs from the top flight will be given a parachute payment of £10m for the new campaign, and a further £10m for the following one.

It was Parkinson who originally recruited Iwelumo from German club Alemania Aachen in the summer of 2005. The Scotsman top-scored with 19 goals as the U's won automatic promotion from League One, and then weighed in with 18 goals last season.