FORMER Sunderland striker Darren Bent has joined Brighton and Hove Albion on loan from Aston Villa.

Bent moves to the Seagulls on an initial month-long deal and has joined his new teammates in Sussex for training today.

The striker, who left Sunderland to join Villa in 2011, has fallen out of favour in the West Midlands and is keen to secure regular football, and has turned to the Championship as an outlet to do that.

Albion boss Sami Hyypia said: “We are delighted to welcome Darren to the club and I hope he will score plenty of goals for us during his time with us.

“His record speaks for itself. He is a top class striker with a more than 100 Premier League goals with Charlton, Spurs, Sunderland and Aston Villa.

“Three years ago he was a regular in the England squad under Fabio Capello. There is no doubting his ability to score goals.

“He also wants to play regular games and that is evident in his willingness to step down from the Premier League to the Championship.”

Bent was widely criticised for his move from Sunderland to Villa three years ago, and said after his move to Villa Park: "People have asked why I swapped a top six club for one currently in the bottom four. But I believe Villa are in a false position, they have been sixth for the past three seasons."

Last season, Villa finished 15th, after finishing 15th, 16th and ninth in the years since Bent joined.