The rumors of Bristol City’s centre back Aden Flint’s departure from Ashton Gate reached a fever pitch yesterday as the veteran defender was left on the bench for Bristol City’s win 3-1 over Barnsley on the opening Saturday of the Championship.
No Aden Flint for Bristol City today #lufc
— Tom Hope (@hopey550) August 5, 2017
In a surprising move, the veteran defender was not in the starting XI, only coming on in the 82nd minute. The 28 year-old has spent the past four years at Bristol City as a regular fixture in the squad. The Bristol City manager Lee Johnson remarked after the match that Flint was available for “the right price”.
Leeds United are still determined to land Bristol City defender Aden Flint despite Birmingham City's interest. #lufc #bcfc #BristolCityFC
— The 4th Official (@Official_T4O) August 1, 2017
Flint has been heavily linked with both Birmingham City and Leeds United in recent days, with reports going so far as to suggest that Redknapp at Birmingham City made a joint offer for both Flint and left back Joe Bryan, another player that has been linked with a move to Leeds in recent weeks.
It’s no secret that Leeds have been looking to bolster the centre back position at the club after the departure of Kyle Bartley back to parent club Swansea City at the completion of his loan deal at the end of last season. And while Leeds has brought in another loan player, Everton’s Matthew Pennington, he is only 22 years old and hasn’t played a full season at either the Championship or Premier League level.
Bristol City centre-back Aden Flint would likely cost 4-5 million but impression we are still getting is that #lufc are not interested.
— Lee Sobot (@LeeSobotYEP) July 25, 2017
However, reports have varied about how strong the “links” are to Leeds United. The player’s agents are reportedly looking to leverage transfer rumors to get their client a raise. They also could be using the knowledge that Leeds are in the market for a central defender to drive up the price and contract demands from Birmingham City. Either way, it now appears that Flint is on his way out of Bristol, with confirmed interest from Birmingham City. Leeds has kept their transfer targets fairly close to the vest during the summer transfer window, with most of the rumors starting overseas. While it wouldn’t be shocking to see Flint sign with Leeds, it looks like Leeds isn’t interested in paying the transfer fee for the defender.