Joe Bennett arrived at the DW Stadium in the summer of 2021, providing the Latics’ squad with a wealth of top-flight and Sky Bet Championship experience. Prior to his Deadline Day arrival, Bennett had played all of his career to date in the Premier League and Championship, boasting over 300 league appearances to his name following spells with Middlesbrough, Aston Villa and Cardiff. A graduate of Middlesbrough’s academy, Bennett made his Premier League debut for Boro as a 19-year-old and went on to feature over 90 times for the Teessiders before joining Premier League side Aston Villa. The full-back played in 30 league games for Villa and had loan spells with Brighton & Hove Albion, Bournemouth and Sheffield Wednesday before moving to Cardiff in the summer of 2016. In his five years at the Cardiff City Stadium, Bennett made over 175 appearances for the Bluebirds and played a key part in their promotion to the Premier League under Neil Warnock in 2018

Bennett made his competitive debut for Latics against Accrington Stanley in the Papa John’s Trophy, before following it up with his first league start against Shrewsbury Town at the start of December. The experienced defender went on to make a further nine appearances, scoring once against Accrington Stanley, as Latics won promotion to the Championship.