STEVE BRUCE believes that Darren Bent is the equal of Liverpool’s Spanish scoring sensation Fernando Torres and should be sitting above him in the Premier League goal charts.

The Sunderland striker could soon have former Middlesbrough winger Bolo Zenden helping him add to his tally after Bruce confirmed that lack of numbers in his squad has led him to consider handing the 33-year-old a permanent deal.

Bent’s seven goals this season were not sufficient to persuade Fabio Capello to include the Sunderland striker in England’s World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Belarus.

But the striker’s international exile has at least afforded him a chance to work alongside Zenden who is training at the Sunderland academy with talks over a possible contract scheduled for the end of next week.

Bent has been in the form of his career since making the switch to Wearside in July and he currently sits one goal behind the division’s leading scorer Torres.

The pair go head to head at the Stadium of Light next weekend but in the interim Bent can enjoy an enforced lay-off while Torres faces a hectic week as Spain travel to Armenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the space of five days.

After Bent netted at Old Trafford last weekend Bruce added his voice to calls for the Black Cats striker to be handed his fifth England cap.

However, the Sunderland manager admitted that Capello’s judgement cannot be questioned after masterminding England’s qualification to South Africa.

“No disrespect to Darren, but I wasn’t that surprised because if you analyse Fabio Capello he hasn’t made many changes from the day he took over,” said Bruce.

“Experienced managers, and he’s been there and worn the T-shirt, think ‘why should I change anything’ when people have done well for him and the England team have done well for him over the last 18 months. The clamour is for Darren.

“All he can do is keep playing well and I’m sure his chance will come. Whether he can break in now to a World Cup squad, who knows?”

Bruce denied that players in the North-East are overlooked in favour of their southern counterparts.

“I think Capello’s seen a few of our games, so I don’t think so because of the coverage the way it is, we can all see every game,’’ he said.

“When you start comparing Darren in the same breath as Torres and Adebayor and all these top strikers, he’s up there with them. For a Sunderland centre-forward to be up there with them and to have Kenwyne coming up behind like a steam train, it bodes well for us.”

Bruce’s only complaint appears to be that Bent should be the Premier League’s leading marksman.

“Seven goals, is that counting the deflected one?,’’ he stated. “If David Dunn’s stands against Arsenal on Saturday, then surely the panel’s got to give him it.

“And if he’d taken the penalty (against Wolves) like he should have done, he’d be top goalscorer in the Premier League, which is a fantastic return.

“That’s obviously what we’ve brought him here for but when you do spend a lot of money like we have done, of course you want him to hit the ground running. It’s not just his goalscoring but his appetite to work. He’s run over 12.5km during a game, which is a staggering achievement.”

Bruce revealed that the international break had given him an opportunity to assess Zenden’s potential to boost Sunderland’s midfield options.

“One thing that does concern me slightly is that we’re a little light on numbers,’’ he admitted. “He has been training in Holland and has obviously looked after himself very well. Bolo has played at the highest level and can cover a few positions.

“I dare say I’ll sit down and talk with him after our next game. At the moment, there is no commitment on either side. But certainly his past record shows he has the calibre that you need in the Premier League.”