Darren Bent is a cult hero at Sunderland but his reputation on Wearside was almost in tatters.
The former England striker and current The Pitch Prospect host spent 18 months with the Black Cats, scoring 36 goals in 63 appearances for the club following his move from Tottenham in 2009.
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Bent’s time at the Stadium of Light was short but sweet – and included his famous ‘beachball’ goal against Liverpool, now enshrined in Premier League folklore – as he then signed in January 2011 for a club-record £24m deal moved to Aston Villa.
Despite an impressive start at Villa Park, the Englishman later struggled to build on his Sunderland heroics and was loaned out to Fulham for the 2013/14 season.
But a spectacular return to the North East could have been possible here, but the club’s fans would not have expected it.
Speaking to Andy Goldstein on The Pitch Prospect Drive, Bent revealed Newcastle made a last-ditch attempt to lure him away from Fulham after he passed his medical with the west London club.
When asked by a caller to name a club he had turned down but would have liked to join, the former Spurs man recalled a career crossroads that took place before he signed with the Cottagers.
He said, “The one [move] I think I probably should have done it when I went to Fulham for a year and Ian Holloway was there [Crystal] Palace back then and he was chasing me.
“I have spoken to Ian Holloway many times and I have spoken to him [Alan] Pardew in Newcastle.
“Now that I think about it, it doesn’t make any sense. Palace offered me three years. I would have been 29, 30, I think.
“Three years at Palace. Newcastle did it, three years under Mike Ashley with Alan Pardew. And I decided to go to Fulham on loan for a year. I don’t know it.” [why I did that].”
And Bent admitted he had been sure a move to his once-bitter rivals would take place, but they left it too late.
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He explained: “The strange thing is that I met Alan Pardew the year before. I think we played against Wigan.
“And a few days later I met Pardew. I was given permission to meet Pardew to discuss the trip to Newcastle, so they were the leading candidates.
“So I was convinced I was going to Newcastle.”
Bent then revealed that the Magpies’ attempts to sign him only came when he was already in the Fulham building.
The 40-year-old continued: “I only heard about Pardew and Newcastle after I finished my medical studies at Fulham.
“They called and said, ‘What are you doing? We want you to come here.’”
“I’m like, ‘Well, I’m sitting here now. Why are you telling me this now? “You left everyone behind.”
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It is hardly surprising that Bent now wishes he had accepted Pardew’s offer, as his time at Fulham was a disappointing point in his career.
He scored just three goals in 24 league games that season as the Cottagers were relegated from the Premier League and finished in 19th place.
Bent returned to Villa but spent his remaining time at the club on loan, as he split his 2014/15 season with Championship clubs Brighton and Derby before permanently joining the latter.
He retired from football in 2019 and hung up his boots after scoring 106 Premier League goals in 276 games and scoring four times for England.
But he may always wonder how much he could have added to that tally had he accepted Pardew’s last-minute offer.