Boro Mania

Joe Bennett was recently held back from going to the Under-20 World Cup with England by Gareth Southgate, a clear indication that he is in and around the first team squad and could find himself in the first team before too long.

Bennett is an very talented left full back who currently finds himself behind Andrew Taylor and Jon Grounds in the pecking order, but many think it is a matter of time before Bennett makes the breakthrough.

Born in Rochdale, Bennett moved to the Teesside area when he was 10 years old and was quickly spotted by boro scouts. Interestingly it looked as though his time at Boro would come to an end when he was de-registered at under-15 level. He continued training with the club though and a year later was offered another contract with the club. He has represented England at numerous levels including Under-16, Under-17, Under-18 and Under-20

Having seen Bennett playing first hand on a number of occasions last season for the reserves I think he has an enormous amount of potential. Extremely comfortably with the ball at his feet he looked to be a very attack-minded full back. He could do with improving the defensive side of his game, particularly body strength and positioning, but these are things that the coaching staff should be able to work on.

Bennett was very impressive recently for the England Under-20 side and will be disappointed not to be with the squad for the upcoming Under-20 World Cup, but with Andrew Taylor out with an ankle injury you have to think that a first team appearance in the Championship is not too far away.