Iron sign Richie Bennett on loan from Barrow

Scunthorpe United is delighted to welcome forward Richie Bennett on loan from Barrow until the end of the season.

The 31-year-old joins the Iron as the eleventh recruit following the club’s change of ownership.

At 6ft 4in, Bennett spent his youth career predominantly at Oldham Athletic between 2001 and 2006 before making his debut in the Manchester League for Springhead AFC at just 16-years-old. His next move would be to Curzon Ashton where he’d spend five years before one campaign at Mossley in 2013-14. 

Two seasons at Northwich Victoria would follow where he scored 44 goals in two seasons before he was signed by then-National League club Barrow on a two-year deal in May 2016.

On moving into full-time football with Barrow, he combined non-league football with working for Marks and Spencer in customer sales, in a call centre and also a spell as a care assistant working with dementia sufferers.

For the Bluebirds, he scored 22 goals in 53 games in all competitions in his one campaign at the club, with the side narrowly missing out on the play-offs.

Following that successful campaign, Bennett was sold to Carlisle United for an undisclosed fee. Among his eight goals for the Cumbrians in 47 appearances, he scored a brace in a 3-2 FA Cup win over his former club Oldham Athletic.

A move to Port Vale would be next in June 2019 where he’d get six league goals in 26 appearances, before a move to Stockport County in March 2020. He enjoyed a loan spell at Hartlepool towards the end of the 2020-21 season where he scored in a 2-2 draw against Boreham Wood before netting in the 2-0 win over Notts County. He then scored a hat-trick a week later in a 7-2 victory at Wealdstone, leading to him being recalled by Stockport, with both teams firmly in the play-off mix. It would be Hartlepool who edged the play-off semi-final and would ultimately win promotion back to the EFL.

Bennett did get his EFL move in that summer though, as he signed for newcomers Sutton United for their debut campaign in the competition. He was the architect for their first-ever win in League Two, netting a brace in a 2-1 victory over Stevenage at Gander Green Lane. Sutton would end 2021-22 one place outside the play-offs, with six goals scored from 22 starts and 16 substitute appearances. He was also part of the team that lost the EFL Trophy Final to Rotherham United in extra time.

The forward returned to Barrow last summer on a two-year deal but found himself on the sidelines in pre-season after picking up a serious injury. He’s more recently returned to contention and has played 14 games, with 11 of those coming from the bench.

Since turning professional in 2016, Bennett has scored 57 goals in 244 appearances, with a number of goals already to his name in the years prior.

The transfer is subject to league and FA ratification.