Asamoah Gyan brilliantly grills Darren Bent about his controversial Sunderland exit to Aston Villa

Gyan, in an exchange on talkSPORT, said he was ‘disappointed’ in Bent for leaving Wearside for Villa – a £24m move - after the pair had struck up a promising partnership in the 2010-11 campaign.

Bent left Wearside in the January transfer window just months after Gyan had arrived.

Bent scored 36 goals for the Black Cats during his one-and-half-years on Wearside before controversially leaving for rivals Villa.

Gyan, appearing on Drive, talkSPORT was being interviewed by host Andy Goldstein when he delivered a question of his own to his former strike partner.

Gyan asked Bent: “I want to ask Darren why he left Sunderland.”

Bent joked: “Have we still got time? Is it break time? Have we got a break?”

He added: “At the time Asamoah, it was just one of those things.

“Listen I knew it was your time to shine, so I thought if I don’t move over, you’re going to take my spot anyway, so the platform was yours.”

Gyan replied: “I know, I know Darren, but we were playing good. We were comfortable playing two strikers, honestly, I was disappointed.

“Because we got to know each other, and we were performing, and all of a sudden you left.”

Bent added: “Yeah I know, it was one of them decisions where I still look back and think, ‘hmm’.

“No, listen, at the end of the day we got to spend a little bit of time together, I enjoyed our time together.”