Bent As A "Nine Pound Note"

... he played down talk of an offer of Stephen Carr and James Milner in part exchange for Charlton striker Darren Bent, whom he tried to sign during the summer.

Roeder: "I have been a fan of Darren Bent from the time I first saw him play for Ipswich. In the summer, we asked Charlton about him and were quoted £15million.

"We have not been back to The Valley for several reasons, one of them being that Charlton would not sell Bent to us because it would send a terrible message out to their supporters.

"Certainly reports saying that we are offering James Milner and Stephen Carr in part-exchange for Bent are not correct, because both players are very much in my plans.

"As far as our supporters are concerned, it is important that while they must know we are busy and still monitoring several situations, no decision has been made on any player we will be trying to bring to St James' Park."