Darren Bent joins Brighton as Aston Villa send £18m record signing back out on loan

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Aston Villa's record signing Darren Bent has joined Championship club Brighton on a one-month loan deal. 

The former England international joined Villa in a £18million deal in January 2011 but has made little impact under Paul Lambert.

Seagulls boss Sami Hyypia has swooped for the ex-Tottenham man - as Sportsmail revealed on Tuesday.

Darren Bent has signed for Championship club Brighton on an initial one-month loan deal

Aston Villa striker Bent (right) has not been a regular in the team under manager Paul Lambert

The 30-year-old forward joined the Midlands club for £18m but has struggled to get into the team recently

'His record speaks for itself. He is a top-class striker with a more than 100 Premier League goals,' the Brighton manager said. 

Bent joined Fulham on a season-long deal last year but scored just three times in 24 games.

But despite Bent's recent struggles, former Liverpool defender Hyypia was delighted with his capture.

'He wants to play regular games and that is evident in his willingness to step down from the Premier League.'

Bent will wear the No 39 shirt for Brighton.

Another former England striker who could be on the move is Emile Heskey. 

The 36-year-old has revealed he would return to Leicester if he got a call from Nigel Pearson.

The former Tottenham man has played for six different clubs in his career and has also got 13 England caps

Last season Bent, who has not been favoured by Paul Lambert, was sent out on loan to Fulham

Heskey, who began his career with Leicester, is without a club after two years in Australia with Newcastle Jets.

‘I’d love to come,’ he told BBC Radio. ‘It is a great club.’ 

Pearson’s side are in the bottom three but Heskey thinks they can stay up. 

‘They have a decent squad, they just need that little pick me up,’ he added.