JOE BENNETT was once a promising England youngster lining up alongside the likes of Jack Grealish but is now without a club.
Bennett, 33 was released by Wigan at the end of last season.
The left-back showed plenty of promise from an early age as he came through the ranks at Northallerton Town in Yorkshire.
He featured for the club in the youth teams and even scored four goals in one game before being snapped up by Middlesbrough when he was just 11.
During his time in the club's academy, he switched from playing in midfield to becoming a full-back.
His progress in the role saw him be rewarded with a scholarship with the under-16s and then being promoted to the reserve side.
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The new defender earned a two-year professional deal and was named in the club's Premier League squad multiple times in the 2008/09 season.
He made his debut for the first team at the end of the season as he came on in the 2-1 defeat to West Ham as Middlesbrough were relegated to the Championship.
Bennett was also noticed on a national level due to his performances as he was called up and played for the England U19, U20 and U21s.
He was able to break into the team during Championship campaign and was a regular under managers Gareth Southgate and Tony Mowbray.
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Although between the two, Bennett did fall out of favour during Gordon Strachan's year-long tenure.
During his four seasons in the Middlesbrough first team, he made 92 appearances for the club scoring one goal.
Bennett then earned a £3million move back to the Premier League in 2012 as he joined Aston Villa.
However, he was not able to cement himself in the team as he featured 25 times in the league in his debut season and only added five more appearances in his second campaign.
Bennett had to spend the next two seasons of his career out on loan, firstly with Brighton for the 2014/15 campaign.
He had a decent season on the South Coast as he played 41 times in the Championship, grabbing one goal and two assists as well as contributing to the club's promotion to the top flight.
However, a permanent move never came about and he was then sent back out on loan by Villa after signing a one-year contract extension.
Bennett joined Bournemouth, but he was unable to make an appearance for the club due to an achilles injury.
Having returned to Villa in January 2016, he was then loaned to Sheffield Wednesday for the remainder of the season.
Despite only making four appearances for the club he was wanted back on a permanent deal in the summer.
However, a move was cancelled by Villa owner Tony Xia as he reportedly did not want to sell to a division rival.
During his time at Villa Park, he would have notable team-mates such as Grealish, Scott Sinclair, Joleon Lescott, Jordan Ayew and Adama Traore.
Bennett did get a move that summer as he made the switch to Cardiff City on a free transfer.
He enjoyed a successful time in the Welsh capital as they earned promotion to the Premier League in his second season with the club.
Bennett spent six years with the club and made 177 appearances for the club, scoring five times.
He was eventually released by the club in 2021 and joined his most recent side in Wigan on a two-year contract.
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Now 33, Bennett is without a club after his release, he has reportedly earned £7million in his career.
Back in June he was touted with a move to Gillingham in League Two, but so far no deal has come about.
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