Tottenham complete $30M Bentley deal
Tottenham completed the 30 million signing of England winger David Bentley from Blackburn on Thursday as coach Juande Ramos restructures his side ahead of the new season Having sold Robbie Keane to Liverpool this week Tottenham paid their Premier League rivals what could turn out to be a club-record transfer fee to add 23-year-old Bentley quot It means the world to join Tottenham quot Bentley told a news conference quot I didn t think they would be interested in me and when it became available there was nowhere else I wanted to go quot Tottenham said Thursday that they had agreed to pay Blackburn 15 million pounds 29 7 million euro18 9 million as Spaniard Ramos made his sixth signing since the end of last season The outlay could however rise to 17 million pounds 33 7 million euro21 5 million depending upon Bentley s performances That would exceed the 16 5 million pounds Spurs paid for both midfielder Luka Modric and striker Darren Bent That uses up most of the 19 million pounds 37 9 million euro24 1 million that Tottenham had received from Liverpool for the signing of Ireland captain Keane Bentley Modric and Giovanni Dos Santos bolster a side that still includes Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov who has been targeted by European champion Manchester United Tottenham confirmed in a statement to the London Stock Exchange that Bentley s contract quot is for a period of up to six years quot The arrival of former Arsenal player Bentley who has scored 13 goals in 102 Premier League games for Blackburn and played six times for England is part of an overhaul of the team by coach Juande Ramos Asked about the fact he began his professional career with Spurs north London rivals Bentley said quot That s in the past I grew up through the Arsenal youth team but it s not a problem for me all my heart is at Tottenham and all my passion will be funnelled into doing well for Tottenham quot Bentley says the aim is to challenge for Champions League qualification which would require big-spending Spurs breaking up the dominance of the division s big four quot We can do anything we want anything we put our minds to You ve seen what Juande Ramos did last year the fitness and level of play has risen and I want to be part of that hopefully we ll keep progressing and doing well quot It s all there for us — if we re all up for it it s quite possible quot Ramos signed Jonathan Woodgate Alan Hutton Gilberto and Chris Gunter in January three months after taking over from Martin Jol and has bought Croatia playmaker Modric 19-year-old Mexico forward Dos Santos Brazil goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes and teenage midfielder John Bostock since the end of last season Jermain Defoe Wayne Routledge Radek Cerny and Lee Barnard had all departed early in Ramos reign and Keane Paul Robinson Pascal Chimbonda Steed Malbranque and Teemu Tainio have all left the club in this off-season Regarding Bentley Ramos said quot I m sure he will bring the best ability to our team and we can help him maximise his potential quot We are in a state of preparation now it s pre-season we are trying to share out the players on the field We ll assess him fitness-wise and try and get him into the team as soon as possible quot Meanwhile midfielder Jermaine Jenas and defender Michael Dawson have been handed one-year contract extensions to keep them at Spurs until 2013 Dawson 24 had been linked with a move to Newcastle towards the end of last season but his new deal has signalled he is part of Ramos plans Since arriving from Nottingham Forest in 2005 Dawson has enjoyed regular football at Spurs and is expected to feature next season if Jonathan Woodgate or Ledley King are rested Jenas 25 was also brought through the ranks at Forest but arrived via Newcastle and last season earned a recall to the England side scoring the first goal in Fabio Capello s reign as manager
