Former Aston Villa defender Ugo Ehiogu feels Darren Bent will be sold.

Ehiogu believes the Bent impasse is bound for a January sale of the record signing despite the manager's assertion that he is not looking to off-load his out-of-favour England forward.

"You've got to back the manager in situations such as this," Ehiogu told the Express & Star.

"Something has obviously gone on and if a player takes a manager on then more times than not he's going to lose the argument."

Ehiogu added: "It's a team which doesn't have a great deal of experience but there is undoubted potential. I think they will have enough to get out of trouble, though. Paul Lambert is not a manager who suffers fools - he is demanding and you have to give him a set level of commitment."