With eight goals in nine games Sunderland goal hound Darren Bent is the Fantasy League Insider's attacking pick

You know things are going your way in front of goal when a beach ball rolls into the path of your shot and deflects it past one of the world's best goalkeepers.

But that's just how it's been for Darren Bent since joining Sunderland in the summer after spending two years on the fringes at Tottenham.

Bent's now infamous goal that beat Liverpool last weekend, where Pepe Reina decided to try and save a bright-red inflatable rather than the football, was his eighth of the season making him the joint top scorer in the Premier League.

The 25-year-old is clearly enjoying life in the North East, after turning down moves to Stoke and Hull, and has already racked up 30 Fantasy League points, including a nine points haul against Wolves where he collected three assists.

Bent was prolific at Charlton before making a £16m move to Tottenham two-years-ago and clearly enjoys being the centre of attention.

At Spurs he was always third or fourth choice, but still scored plenty of goals when called into the team, especially in pre-season, bagging 12 in the league last year.

His best Premier League return was for Charlton back in 2005/06 where he notched 18 times in 36 games and he could be his way to similar figures again, if he continues his current scoring spree.

With six goals in five games Bent is back to his prolific best and showed that he is even a danger from outside the box with his goal against Manchester United.

On Saturday Sunderland face lowly Birmingham, who they overcame 2-0 in the League Cup earlier in the season, so Bent could end the weekend as the leading goal scorer outright, especially if Fernando Torres remains on the sidelines.

Full of confidence and full of goals, Bent's frustrating spell at Tottenham has helped him mature into one of the Premier League's most feared front men, all he has to do now is convince Fabio Capello he's good enough to grace the World Cup.