Sunderland manager Steve Bruce this week accused the now-former Sunderland striker Darren Bent of “massively letting down everyone” the club, after he joined EPL rivals Aston Villa in a shock £24m move on Tuesday.

The news was a double blow for the club as Danny Wellbeck faces two months on the sidelines after undergoing knee surgery the day after Bent’s departure.

However, they looked set to complete a £3m move for Stoke frontman Ricardo Fuller.

26-year-old Bent is Sunderland’s top-scorer this season, with 11 goals. He scored 25 last season, after joining the Wearsiders in August 2009.

 

The club will receive £18m, with a possible £6m of add-ons. But the financial windfall provided no immediate consolation to Bruce, who said:

“The players, supporters and the club as a whole have a right to feel massively let down. The timing is especially hard to take, given that we are progressing positively and in a great position to push on.”

Wellbeck had exploratory surgery on a torn cartilage and Bruce said he would “be out for six to eight weeks.”

The Black Cats visit Blackpool this Saturday, looking to avenge Blackpool’s recent ‘smash-and-grab’ 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light.

They had only one striker available, Asamoah Gyan, who fluked Sunderland’s 94^th-minute leveller in last Sunday’s derby against Newcastle.

And Bruce said Gyan was “in cotton wool and we’re all massaging every bit of his body to make sure he’s ready.”

But Fuller’s arrival could mean the cotton wool will be un-necessary.