Tottenham striker Darren Bent has apologised for an online rant that accused Spurs chairman Daniel Levy of disrupting his move to Sunderland.
Bent blamed his outburst on social network site Twitter on frustration.
In a statement on Tottenham's official website, Bent said: "I appreciate that transfers are seldom straightforward."
He added: "I regret my actions and did not intend to offend Daniel Levy or anyone with the nature or the content of my posting."
One of the tweets said: "Do I wanna go to Hull? No. Do I wanna go to Stoke? No. Do I wanna go to Sunderland? Yes."
The Twitter account in question was taken down on Friday morning and Spurs were understood to be dealing with the matter internally.
Later on Friday, however, a statement appeared on the club's website containing Bent's apology.
It read: "I appreciate that transfers are seldom straightforward and are often complex.
"However, after a long period of waiting following my withdrawal from the plane to China, I had become incredibly frustrated by the time these things take and I posted inappropriate comments on my Twitter site.
"I allowed my emotions to get in the way of my better judgement. I regret my actions and did not intend to offend Daniel Levy or anyone with the nature or the content of my posting."
The arrival of fellow striker Peter Crouch from Portsmouth earlier this week appears to have signalled the end of Bent's stay at White Hart Lane and the only stumbling block looks to be his transfer fee.
Bent missed Spurs' tour to China for talks on Wearside.
There's a human being in this who is obviously caught up in the middle and wants his future sorted out
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce
Sunderland are understood to be be prepared to break their own transfer record of £9m, paid for goalkeeper Craig Gordon two years ago, but Levy will be wanting to recoup most of the £16.5m he paid to Charlton two years ago for the England centre-forward.
In his posting, the 25-year-old, who was Spurs' leading scorer last season with 17 goals from 43 appearances, appeared to lay the blame for any delay firmly at Tottenham's door, adding on other tweets, that were littered with swear words: "Why can't anything be simple [sic].
"Sunderland are not the problem in the slightest."
Black Cats manager Steve Bruce said that he can understand if Bent is feeling frustrated that his move away from Tottenham has not yet been completed, but added that he was still keen to sign
the striker.
"Someone says Darren has been Twittering," Bruce told the Sunderland Echo newspaper.
"I don't even know what that is, but I have seen a few things in the papers about it.
"Footballers aren't just objects. There's a human being in this who is obviously caught up in the middle and wants his future sorted out. The situation at the moment is that the clubs are still talking.
"We thought we had a deal done a couple of days ago and it has not quite materialised. We will do our utmost to get the deal over the line. I would say I was really confident that would happen a couple of days ago, but now I'd say it's 50-50."
If Bent does go then maybe we will be interested
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp on Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Several sporting stars have made the headlines in recent weeks after comments posted on their Twitter feed, with Australia batsman Phillip Hughes the latest in the spotlight.
Hughes' agent took the blame for revealing that his client had been dropped for the third Test at Edgbaston on his Twitter feed.
Cycling superstar Lance Armstrong is also an enthusiastic user of Twitter, using it to hit back at Alberto Contador in a recent row between the two team-mates.
Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp - speaking on Thursday, before the Twitter row erupted - admitted he was unsure of how the deal was progressing.
"I spoke to the chairman (on Wednesday) but I don't know where he is at," he said. "He was talking to Sunderland the last I was aware.
If Bent does leave the club, Redknapp has reiterated his desire to bring Real Madrid striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar to north London.
The Dutchman had been set for a move to German side Stuttgart last week but that fell through due to his wage demands.
"If you look at his goalscoring record it is incredible," Redknapp said. "If he is available then again he is a player that interests me.
"If any top-class player becomes available then you have to be interested and if Bent does go then maybe we will be interested.
"You cannot have too many good players. Competition for places is what it is all about. Look at Manchester United, you could pick two teams from their squad last year."
Quite a Long Post,
-Nathan133
