Aston Villa has completed the signing of forward Darren Bent from Premier League rivals Sunderland.
Bent, who had scored 36 goals in 63 appearances since joining the Black Cats from Tottenham 18 months ago, stunned the North East club on Sunday by handing in a transfer request.
And just 36 hours later the 26-year-old has put pen-to-paper on a four-and-a-half year deal with Villa, who are believed to have paid a club record £18m for the seven-time England cap.
Bent told Villa’s official website: “Aston Villa is a massive club and as soon as I knew they were interested in signing me I wanted to join.
“The size of the football club and the history of the club are major reasons for me coming here.
“There are some top, top players here too, real quality, and I've been able to speak to the manager and the chairman about their ambitions for the club, so I'm very excited about being a part of what we hope to achieve.”
Villa boss Gerard Houllier has been desperate to add some firepower to his struggling side, which has managed just 24 goals in their 22 Premier League games so far this season.
While winger Stewart Downing tops the club’s scoring charts with five goals, Emile Heskey is Villa’s leading scorer among strikers with just three, while fellow forwards Gabriel Agbonlahor and John Carew are yet to get off the mark.