Josh Benson

Josh Benson (born 5 December 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Burnley, as a midfielder. He has previously been on loan with Grimsby Town.

Josh Benson

Personal information
Full name	Josh Benson[1]
Date of birth	5 December 1999[2]
Place of birth	Brentwood, England
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Burnley
Number	41
Youth career
2008–2018	Arsenal
2018–2019	Burnley
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–	Burnley	6	(0)
2020	→ Grimsby Town (loan)	11	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:04, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

Career

Early career

Benson was born in Brentwood, Essex to parents John and Vikki, and is the oldest of four siblings, his three siblings being called Jolie, Halle and Rocco.[3][4] The family were raised in Thurrock, Essex.[3] He attended Herringham Primary School in Chadwell St Mary and it was here that he was selected to represent Thurrock District team following a trial.[5] It was at the age of seven, when an Arsenal scout spotted him playing for Thurrock in a tournament and invited for a trial.[3] There was also interest from other clubs, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Millwall.[3] He began training with Arsenal when he turned eight but wasn't originally a standout performer for the team and was one of three players to be left of the squad for a trip abroad to Spain.[3] He later progressed to be one of the better players in the side, captaining the youth sides and eventually earning a two-year scholarship when he turned 16.[3] In the first year of his scholarship he sustained a knee injury which kept him out of action for four months.[3] In the spring of 2018 he was informed by Arsenal that they would not be offering him a professional contract once his scholarship expired.[3]

Burnley

Following his release he was invited on trial by Premier League side Burnley after hearing of his availability.[3] In the summer of 2018, after a short trial, he was convinced to sign for the club by under-23 manager, Michael Duff, signing a two-year professional contract after a clear path to the first team was outlined.[3] A couple of months later, Duff left to become the manager of Cheltenham Town and he was replaced by Steve Stone, but the pair formed a positive relationship.[3] He started training with the first team on a number of occasions and made the squad for an away trip to Manchester United at Old Trafford in January 2019, but remained an unused substitute.[6][7] He featured a lot for Burnley in their pre-season games for the 2019–20 season in their trip to Portugal.[8] Following pre-season he hoped he would be part of the first team squad regularly but an injury hampered his progress[7]. However, he remained a mainstay in the under-23 side, captaining them on a couple of occasions.[9]

On 18 January 2020, he moved on loan to gain some first team experience, joining EFL League Two side Grimsby Town where he joined up with fellow under-23 player Anthony Glennon.[6] The move materialised as manager, Ian Holloway, had worked with Burnley's chief operating officer Matt Williams when he was at Blackpool, doing a lot of his scouting.[7] Williams had recommended Glennon after Grimsby were in desperate need of a left-back and Benson followed a week later after Holloway had watched him play a couple of times.[7] He scored his first professional goal in February 2020, scoring the winner in the 86th minute against Morecambe in a 2–1 victory.[7] The loan only lasted two months after the season was cut short because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but he had still made a good impresssion on Holloway, scoring twice in 11 appearances.[3] Following the Premier League restart in July, Benson made it onto the bench for Burnley for a number of games but failed to make an appearance.[10]

In the summer of 2020, Burnley triggered a one-year contract extension on his deal.[3] In August 2020, Holloway was keen for Benson and Glennon to return to Grimbsy on loan and made the call to Burnley.[10] There were offers from EFL Championship sides to go out on loan again, but due to the small size of the squad and lack of transfer activity, Burnley decided to keep him at the club.[3] On 17 September 2020, he made his first team debut in an EFL Cup tie with Sheffield United, replacing Ashley Westwood as a subsitute as the Clarets progressed on penalties.[11] A week later he made his full debut in the same competition as Burnley beat Millwall 2–0 at The Den.[11] On 28 November 2020, he made his Premier League debut for Burnley, replacing the injured Josh Brownhill in the starting line-up for a trip to Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium.[3] He played the full 90 minutes and manager, Sean Dyche, described his performance as "terrific" despite the 5–0 defeat.[3] Days after the game, Steve Stone suggested that plans had been outlined to send him out on loan in the January transfer window.[12] In December 2020, after making five first team appearances, he signed a new contract until June 2023 with a further 12-month extension in the club's favour.[13]

Career statistics

As of match played 3 February 2021

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Burnley	2019–20[14]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020–21[15]	Premier League	6	0	2	0	3	0	—		11	0
	Total		6	0	2	0	3	0	—		11	0
Grimsby Town (loan)	2019–20[14]	League Two	11	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	2
Career total			17	2	2	0	3	0	0	0	22	2

References

1. "Professional Retain List 2018/19" (PDF). Premier League. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
2. "Josh Benson". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
3. Jones, Andy (1 December 2020). "'Boxing mentality' has helped Josh Benson reach the top with Burnley". The Athletic. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
4. Josh Benson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
5. "Thurrock Primary District Football Team". Thurrock SSP. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
6. "Grimsby sign midfielder Benson on loan" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
7. Jones, Andy (14 March 2020). "Learning how to be good enough to play for Burnley – from Ian Holloway". The Athletic. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
8. "Benson Back With A Bang". 28 July 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2021 – via Burnley F.C.
9. "Benson Makes Grimsby Switch". 16 January 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021 – via Burnley F.C.
10. Green, Trevor (12 August 2020). "Holloway wants Burnley's Anthony Glennon and Josh Benson back at Grimsby Town". Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
11. James, Alex (28 November 2020). "Who is Josh Benson and what the future might hold for Burnley starlet ahead of Man City test". Lancs Live. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
12. James, Alex (1 December 2020). "Josh Benson, Bobby Thomas and the immediate future for Burnley's youngsters outlined". Lancs Live. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
13. McDougall, John (16 December 2020). "Josh Benson's first words as Burnley midfielder signs new deal at Turf Moor". Lancs Live. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
14. "Games played by Josh Benson in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
15. "Games played by Josh Benson in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2020.