Darren Bent: Derby County sign Aston Villa striker on loan

Bent made his England debut in 2006 and has scored four goals in 13 full international appearances

Derby County have signed out-of-favour Aston Villa striker Darren Bent on loan until the end of the season.

The 30-year-old England international has just ended a loan spell at Championship rivals Brighton, where he scored two goals in four games.

Bent previously played under Rams boss Steve McClaren in the England side.

"He knows where I play, so it's a case of me just bedding in, trying to get involved and scoring as many goals as I can," Bent told BBC Radio Derby.

"I wanted to come here and be part of something that could be special."

Bent, who has 13 England caps, made eight appearances for Premier League side Villa this term, seven of which came as substitute.

He is set to make his Rams debut against former side Ipswich Town on 10 January.

"Darren has scored goals wherever he has been during his career and we believe he can contribute on the field for us," McClaren told the club website. "He adds to our already excellent attacking options."

The former Charlton, Tottenham man has scored 25 goals in 72 appearances for Villa since a £24m move from Sunderland in January 2011, but has not been a regular under Paul Lambert and spent last season on loan at Fulham.

Derby sit third in the table, one place below Ipswich and two points outside the automatic promotion places.