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ottenham complete $30M Bentley deal
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Tottenham recruit Bentley prospered at Blackburn after starting his career with Arsenal.
Having sold Robbie Keane to Liverpool this week, Tottenham paid their Premier League rivals what could turn out to be a club-record transfer fee to add 23-year-old Bentley.
"It means the world to join Tottenham," Bentley told a news conference. "I didn't think they would be interested in me and when it became available there was nowhere else I wanted to go."
Tottenham said on Thursday they had agreed to pay Blackburn £15 million ($29.7 million; 18.9m euros) as Spaniard Ramos made his sixth signing since the end of last season.
The outlay could, however, rise to £17 million ($33.7 million; 21.5m euros) depending upon Bentley's performances. That would exceed the £16.5 million Spurs paid for both midfielder Luka Modric and striker Darren Bent.
That uses up most of the £19 million ($37.9 million; 24.1m euros) that Tottenham had received from Liverpool for the signing of Ireland captain Keane.
Bentley, Modric and Mexican teenager Giovanni Dos Santos will bolster a squad that still includes Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov who has been targeted by European champion Manchester United.
Tottenham confirmed in a statement to the London Stock Exchange that Bentley's contract "is for a period of up to six years."
The arrival of former Arsenal player Bentley, who has scored 13 goals in 102 Premier League games for Blackburn and played six times for England, is part of an overhaul of the team by coach Juande Ramos.
Asked about the fact he began his professional career with Spurs' north London rivals Bentley said: "That's in the past, I grew up through the Arsenal youth team but it's not a problem for me, all my heart is at Tottenham and all my passion will be funnelled into doing well for Tottenham."
Bentley says the aim is to challenge for Champions League qualification, which would require big-spending Spurs breaking up the dominance of the division's 'big four'.
"We can do anything we want, anything we put our minds to. You've seen what Juande Ramos did last year; the fitness and level of play has risen and I want to be part of that, hopefully we'll keep progressing and doing well."
Ramos signed Jonathan Woodgate, Alan Hutton, Gilberto and Chris Gunter in January, three months after taking over from Martin Jol, and has bought Croatia playmaker Modric, 19-year-old Dos Santos, Brazil goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes and teenage midfielder John Bostock since the end of last season.
Jermain Defoe, Wayne Routledge, Radek Cerny and Lee Barnard had all departed early in Ramos' reign, and Keane, Paul Robinson, Pascal Chimbonda, Steed Malbranque and Teemu Tainio have all left the club in this off-season.
Regarding Bentley, Ramos said: "I'm sure he will bring the best ability to our team and we can help him maximise his potential.
"We are in a state of preparation now, it's pre-season, we are trying to share out the players on the field. We'll assess him fitness-wise and try and get him into the team as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, midfielder Jermaine Jenas and defender Michael Dawson have been handed one-year contract extensions to keep them at Spurs until 2013.
Dawson, 24, had been linked with a move to Newcastle towards the end of last season but his new deal has signalled he is part of Ramos' plans.
Since arriving from Nottingham Forest in 2005, Dawson has enjoyed regular football at Spurs and is expected to feature next season if Jonathan Woodgate or Ledley King are rested.
Jenas, 25, was also brought through the ranks at Forest but arrived via Newcastle and last season earned a recall to the England side, scoring the first goal in Fabio Capello's reign as manager.
