| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Harry Francis Benns[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2000-01-13)13 January 2000 (age 25)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Warrington, England[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Manchester City | |||
| 2014–2018 | Port Vale | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2019 | Port Vale | 1 | (0) |
| 2018 | →Stafford Rangers (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2019 | →Kidsgrove Athletic (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Hyde United | 42 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | Stalybridge Celtic | 24 | (5) |
| 2023–2024 | Bamber Bridge | 14 | (5) |
| Total | 98 | (11) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Harry Francis Benns (born 13 January 2000) is an English former semi-professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder.
Benns turned professional atPort Vale in May 2018, making his first-team debut that month. He joinedStafford Rangers onloan for the first half of the 2018–19 season and ended the campaign on loan atKidsgrove Athletic. Released by Port Vale at the end of the 2018–19 season, he then joinedHyde United for three years. He joinedStalybridge Celtic in July 2022 and moved toBamber Bridge the following season.
Benns came through theyouth team atPort Vale and was given a professionalcontract in May 2018 after being named as Youth Player of the Year for the2017–18 season.[3][4]ManagerNeil Aspin gave him his debut on the final day of the 2017–18 season, a 5–0 defeat atCambridge United on 5 May. However, he entered the game as a 75th-minutesubstitute forBen Whitfield when the "Valiants" were already four goals down.[5] This made him the first player born in the 21st century to represent the Port Vale first team.[6]
On 23 August 2018, Benns joinedNorthern Premier League Premier Division sideStafford Rangers on an initial month-longloan deal – later extended until the end of the2018–19 season;coachGary Brabin said that "it is an opportunity for him now to play men's football and get to know what it is about".[7][8] On 8 September, he scored his first goal in senior football, providing Rangers with the winner in a 2–1 victory atGrimsby Borough in the first round of qualification for theFA Cup.[9] He was named as Stafford Rangers Player of the Month for September.[10] On 20 March 2019, he joined Northern Premier League Division One West clubKidsgrove Athletic on loan until the end of the season. Vale managerJohn Askey confirmed that he would not be offering Benns a new contract on 16 May.[11]
Benns joinedNorthern Premier League Premier Division sideHyde United after arriving atEwen Fields on the first day of the2019–20 pre-season.[12] He made 16 appearances for the "Tigers", scoring one goal, before picking up a season-ending injury in December.[13] He did not feature in the2020–21 season, which was curtailed after ten games due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in England.[14] He featured 30 times in the2021–22 campaign and was an unused substitute in the final of theManchester Premier Cup, where Hyde were beaten byAshton United.[13][15] He left the club alongside five others players after rejecting the opportunity to return for pre-season training.[16]
On 5 July 2022, Benns joinedStalybridge Celtic, also of the Northern Premier League Premier Division.[17] He scored six goals from 21 starts and seven substitute appearances in the2022–23 season as Celtic wererelegated in 20th-place.[18] He joinedBamber Bridge in the summer and enjoyed a good start to the2023–24 season, scoring six goals in 17 games.[19] However, he suffered a doubleleg fracture with significant ankle damage in a 2–2 draw atAshton United on 4 November.[20] AGoFundMe was set up to support his recovery as he was left unable to work for a lengthy period of time.[21][22]
Speaking in May 2018, Port Vale youth team coach Mike Ede described Benns as a creativemidfielder who "is clever, has the ability to score goals and will take shots from places where you don't think" and who "can play off to the side or as a number 10".[4]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Port Vale | 2017–18[23] | EFL League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018–19[24] | EFL League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Stafford Rangers (loan) | 2018–19[25] | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6[a] | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| Kidsgrove Athletic (loan) | 2018–19[26] | Northern Premier League Division One West | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Hyde United | 2019–20[13] | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 1 | 22 | 1 |
| 2020–21[13] | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021–22[13] | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 1 | 30 | 2 | |
| Total | 42 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 52 | 3 | ||
| Stalybridge Celtic | 2022–23[18] | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[d] | 1 | 28 | 6 |
| Bamber Bridge | 2023–24[19] | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[e] | 1 | 17 | 6 |
| Career total | 98 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 123 | 16 | ||
Hyde United