and he (had) school that morning!" His potential and reputation at this point was already at a level where scouts from Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool were watching his progress. He eventually made his full debut in a 2–0 defeat at Middlesbrough to become Derby's youngest ever first team player. In the event of the match, Bennett played for 78 minutes and hit the bar in the second half. If the ball had gone in he would have set the record as the youngest scorer in Football League history. Clough described the performance as "a very mature debut." Bennett played nine times during the season and won the Academy Player of the Year award. Bennett mainly featured for the under-21 side at the start of the 2012–13 season sporadic substitute appearances, it was in one these appearances where Bennett scored his first goal for the first team, in a 5–0 win at home to Tranmere Rovers in the first half of the FA Cup on 5 January 2013, Bennett scored the fifth goal on 87 minutes, 3 minutes after he was introduced into the action. This goal also set the record for the youngest goal scorer in Derby County's history at the age of 16 years and 174 days, beating a record set by Lee Holmes in 2003. Bennett turned 17 in pre-season ahead of the 2013–14 season, where he is expected to continue to feature for the under-21 side as well as substitute appearances for the first team, with a potential loan move being considered. Bennett however remained at the club and he scored his first league goal in Derby's 5–1 win at Millwall on 14 September. He has since made sporadic appearances under new Rams boss Steve McClaren including an appearance in the FA Cup Third Round on 5 January 2014 tie against Chelsea at iPro Stadium, in which Bennett impressed many fans with his pace and willingness to run at experienced full-back and England centurion Ashley Cole. On 13 March 2014, Bennett joined League Two side Chesterfield on a month's loan. On 9 April 2014 he was recalled back to Derby. After returning to Derby County on 9 April, Bennett was left out of the squad that faced Queens Park Rangers in the 2014 Football League Championship play-off Final but later signed a new four-year deal on 29 July to secure his future at the club.