Middlesbrough have made contact with Joe Bennett as they consider offering the left-back a contract, Football League World can exclusively reveal.

The 31-year-old is without a club having left Cardiff City in the summer, and he isn't fully fit after suffering a serious knee injury in March that cut his season short last time out.

Despite that, Bennett will be stepping up his recovery now and a source has told FLW that he could make the move back to Teesside.

If an agreement is reached, it would see the defender link up with Neil Warnock again, with the pair enjoying great success in the Welsh capital as Bennett was a regular for the experienced boss as Cardiff won promotion in 2018.

As well as that, it would see the player return to Boro having come through the ranks at the club, and he would go onto make almost 100 appearances before joining Aston Villa nine years ago.

Bringing in a left-back has been a priority for Warnock in the window as he looks to provide Marc Bola with competition as Boro hope to push for promotion this season.

Thoughts? Would this be a good signing? Let us know in the comments below.