Charlton end wait for Bent

England Under 21 star Darren Bent said his former Ipswich skipper Matt Holland persuaded him to sign for Charlton Athletic on a four-year deal.

The London club paid £2.5million for Ipswich's 19-goal striker, rising to £3m based on appearances and England caps.

Bent, who has refused to discuss a long-term contract at Ipswich since Charlton manager Alan Curbishley tried to buy him last summer, said: 'I spoke to Matty and I know Hermann (Hreidarsson) is enjoying himself here. They both said it's a fantastic club to play for and when you hear those kind of things from players of that experience you take notice.

'It was an opportunity I couldn't turn down. Curbs has told me that it's up to me to take my chance when it comes and I know that, with the amount of strikers at this club, I'm going to need to do that.'

Curbishley tracked Bent for two years and when Ipswich lost to West Ham in the play-offs last month, their chairman, David Sheepshanks, 'reluctantly' agreed to sell him.

'Last summer we didn't sell Darren, instead taking a calculated risk in retaining him in the hope that he would score the goals to take us to the Premiership. It very nearly worked - but not quite,' he said.