Bent only made twelve first-team appearances for Manchester United, who already had an international-quality left back in Roger Byrne.

Modern writers speculate that at most other teams Bent would have been a regular starter, and he was the subject of interest from fellow First Division clubs, but Busby refused to let him leave.

He was one of eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster, when their aircraft crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport after a European Cup match in Belgrade.

[3][4] He grew up in a matriarchal working-class family; his father was the sole money earner, but his mother ran the household and had more influence on her son.

In 1946, aged 13, Bent saved another child from drowning in the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal, and was awarded a medal by his local Humane Society.

[10] At the time, players were not allowed to sign a professional contract with a team until the age of 17, so like many of his teammates, Bent also took on an apprenticeship as a joiner,[11] a trade he continued during the summer breaks between football seasons.

[12] After signing for Manchester United, a teenage Bent met Marion Mallandaine, initially when he had been dating her younger sister, Betty.

[20] Bent's teammate Roger Byrne, who had deputised for Aston to make his Manchester United debut in 1951, had made it clear early in the 1952–53 season that he wanted to play at left back, requesting a transfer when the Manchester United manager Matt Busby played him on the left wing instead.

[19] Bent made his first-team debut for Manchester United in December 1954 against Burnley,[21] in place of Byrne, who had a neck injury.

[22] Bent's appearances were again sporadic in the 1955–56 season, deputising for either Byrne or Bill Foulkes; he played three times in October,[23][24][25] and then once in April.

[19] His wife, Marion, believed that several other First Division teams were interested in Bent, including Wolverhampton Wanderers, who along with Manchester United were one of the most successful English clubs of the 1950s.

[21] Bent did not play any first-team games during the 1957–58 season,[26] having been on the sidelines for several months with a broken foot, the second such injury he had suffered during his time with the club.

[10] Bent did not enjoy flying, suffering from nose bleeds and requiring ear drops when he did so,[34] and Ronnie Cope was going to travel with the team as a reserve for the experience of a European away fixture.