WHEN figures of £24m are being talked about, any club around the world would have to consider it. Sunderland, who must now find a suitable replacement, should never be accused of stupidity for selling Darren Bent.

Bent scores goals, and in abudance. Even though he has not been hitting the sort of form that he reached in his first season at the Stadium of Light, the 26-year-old has still found the net 11 times this season.

His ability to score during his time on Wearside helped him to regain his England place and he has, during the last 18 months, rightly been regarded as one of the finest English strikers around.

But for £24m? Money, clearly, talks. And there is no right-minded football fan that can argue that Sunderland should not have acccepted a deal worth that figure when Aston Villa put the offer on the table.

It is going to be difficult to find a forward with that amount of goals in him, but there has rarely - if ever - been an occasion Sunderland supporters can claim to have watched an oustanding performance from him.

For that sum of money, Sunderland had to do business. There has been an over-reliance on his goals, now manager Steve Bruce can work on adding more from his midfield, with the likes of PSG's Stephane Sessegnon an essential recruit.

Even if Bent had been happier and wanted to stay, Sunderland would have been forced to seriously think about selling. For £24m, Sunderland should be able to signifcantly strengthen a good squad in the next eight months.

The timing, clearly, is not ideal. With less than two weeks remaining of the transfer window, Bruce must now press ahead and work on a list of short-term replacements. The longer term options will all come at an expensive premium.

It will be one of the most difficult periods of Bruce's reign. Trying to keep Sunderland's European hopes alive will be a severe test of his managerial skills.

He was unimpressed by Bent's determination to quit the club, but football moves on - and quickly. Bruce might feel let down by his star striker, but he knows he now has to focus on the future.

With Danny Welbeck still facing a spell on the sidelines through injury along with Fraizer Campbell, Asamoah Gyan is his only fit striker for this weekend's trip to Blackpool.

Clearly that is not a situation he is relishing and will have to move quickly to bring in a replacement or two. Bruce needs to ensure Sunderland's season does not fall apart.

If Sunderland fall alarmingly down the Premier League table, this will be the season when Bent's departure killed their European hopes.

If Bruce can follow up a promising start by claiming a top seven finish, Sunderland supporters could be shouting 'Darren who?' come the summer.