Darren Bent claims he would take former Spurs midfielder over Man Utd man

Darren Bent has insisted that he would take former Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart over Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes.

Van der Vaart had a transformative effect on the Tottenham side after joining the club from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day in 2010.

The Dutchman’s goals and assists played a pivotal role in the Lilywhites making it until the quarterfinals of the Champions League in the 2010/11 campaign, in what was their first foray in the competition.

Sadly, the Netherlands international’s time at White Hart Lane came to a premature end as Andre Villas-Boas sold him when he took over from Harry Redknapp in 2012 and replaced him with Gylfi Sigurdsson.

In light of the news that Fernandes is set to sign a five-year deal with Manchester United (Sky Sports), talkSPORT presenter Andy Goldstein questioned if any player has had as big an impact on the Premier League as the Portuguese international has had.

Bent told talkSPORT: “Van der Vaart at Spurs – he was better than Bruno.

Goldstein retorted: “Oh, shut up! He was not better than Bruno Fernandes. What are you talking about? He was a great player but he was nowhere near Bruno. The impact he had, the goals and assists in his first season.”

“I’m going Van de Vaart”, said Bent, sticking to his guns. “I’m saying he was better.”

Spurs Web Opinion

This is actually a very good comparison as Van der Vaart and Fernandes were quite similar players.

One could argue that Van der Vaart actually made the bigger impact, partly because number tens like the Dutchman were a lot more vogue back then.

As much as I loved Van der Vaart, I am not sure he would have a similar impact in the Premier League if he were playing now, given his physical shortcomings.

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