Town awaiting windfall
DARREN Bent could land Ipswich Town a whopping £200,000 windfall tonight if he goes on as a substitute to make his England debut against Poland at Old Trafford.
By Derek Davis
DARREN Bent could land Ipswich Town a whopping £200,000 windfall tonight if he goes on as a substitute to make his England debut against Poland at Old Trafford.
And the Blues will be in line for another £200,000 next summer if Bent goes on to win another cap during the World Cup finals.
Although this paper first disclosed Town would get a six-figure sum for each of the first two competitive games Bent plays for England, as part of the deal struck with Charlton, the EADT can today reveal for the first time the actual amount involved.
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Ipswich bosses had hoped the £400,000 bonus would be due in full tonight but England's dismal performance in beating the Austrians on Saturday, coupled with skipper David Beckham's sending-off and Sven-Goran Eriksson's team selection in picking Liverpool's Peter Crouch, ended that hope.
Although Wayne Rooney took a kick in training yesterday that needed treatment, he is expected to be fit to play on his club ground alongside stand-in skipper Michael Owen tonight.
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There are again widespread calls for the in-form Charlton striker to be given his debut after banging in seven Premiership goals in eight games to lead the country's top-flight scorers.
Bent trained with the squad again yesterday but faces competition to play against Poland from Crouch and Jermain Defoe.
A product of Town's famed Academy system, Bent moved to The Valley for an initial £2.5m in a four-year deal and, on top of the £400,000, the Blues will be paid for international caps a further £100,000 in add-ons from Charlton as part of the summer move, depending on appearances, performances and how the Addicks fare in the Premiership.
England's friendly in Geneva on November 12 against Argentina does not count towards a pay-out for the Blues even if Bent plays.
n Owen Garvan and Shane Supple have been excused international duty with the Republic of Ireland Under-19 squad so they can be available for Ipswich Town's upcoming games against Coventry City and Watford. Billy Clarke will join up with the Irish squad for their European Championship qualifying group matches.
