 Flint withBristol City in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aden Flint[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-07-11)11 July 1989 (age 36) | ||
| Place of birth | Pinxton, England[2] | ||
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Walsall | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2008 | Pinxton | ||
| 2008–2011 | Alfreton Town | 67 | (3) |
| 2008–2009 | →Matlock Town (loan) | ||
| 2011–2013 | Swindon Town | 64 | (4) |
| 2011 | →Alfreton Town (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 2013–2018 | Bristol City | 209 | (36) |
| 2018–2019 | Middlesbrough | 39 | (1) |
| 2019–2022 | Cardiff City | 86 | (10) |
| 2020–2021 | →Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Stoke City | 9 | (0) |
| 2023 | →Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 18 | (1) |
| 2023–2025 | Mansfield Town | 82 | (3) |
| 2025– | Walsall | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2010 | England C | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 7 May 2025 (UTC) | |||
Aden Flint (born 11 July 1989) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forEFL League Two clubWalsall.
Flint began his career in theCentral Midlands Football League withPinxton before stepping up to theConference North in the summer of 2008 when he joinedAlfreton Town.[4] At Alfreton, Flint worked part-time tarmacking roads.[5]
Flint spent three months of his debut season at Alfreton on loan withNorthern Premier League Premier Division sideMatlock Town.[6] The adverse weather prevented Flint from playing many games but he scored in the 5–0 victory overLeigh Genesis in January 2009.[7] The following month saw Flint play in the 1–1 draw againstIlkeston Town,[8] and scored an own goal in the 2–0 loss atWhitby Town.[9] On 26 February 2009, Matlock managerMark Atkins confirmed that Flint was among three players to have departed the club following the end of his loan.[10]
Flint spent the rest of his Alfreton career within its first team set-up helping reach theConference North play-off final during the2009–10 season where they lost 2–1 toFleetwood Town.[11] He impressed many visiting scouts with bids being turned down fromDerby County,Luton Town and ten other clubs according to Alfreton chairman, Wayne Bradley.[12]
In January 2011,Colchester United managerJohn Ward confirmed that his club had been in talks with Flint over a move to theEssex club. Ward also announced that Flint was scheduled to travel toWiltshire the next day to discuss a possible move withSwindon Town withDanny Wilson.[13]
Days later Swindon Town announced the signing of Flint on a2+1⁄2-year contract and was issued the number 16 shirt which had been recently made available after the departure of on-loanManchester City forwardDavid Ball.[14]
Flint made his Swindon debut in the 1–1 draw with Rochdale and featured in the following fixture againstLeyton Orient which resulted in a 3–0 loss for theWiltshire club.
In March 2011, Flint returned toAlfreton Town on a loan until the end of the 2010–11 season. New Swindon managerPaul Hart was impressed with Flint's attitude in training but had decided to select more experienced players such asAndy Frampton instead.[15] Upon rejoining Alfreton, Flint was immediately handed the captaincy and led the club to promotion from theConference North.
On 6 August 2011, Flint scored his first goal against Crewe Alexandra. He was a consistent performer in Town's 2011–12 title winning season. Flint scored twice in a 3–0 win against Stevenage at the County Ground on 20 April. The victory secured Swindon's place in the 2012–13 League One play-off.
Flint signed forBristol City on 11 June 2013 for a fee of £300,000. Due to a sell on clause his previous clubAlfreton Town received 20% of the fee (£60,000).[16] He made his debut on 3 August in a 2–2 draw againstBradford City atAshton Gate.[17] He scored his first goal for the club on 21 September in a 3–2 defeat to former clubSwindon Town.[18] On 8 February, he scored his second goal for the club in a 1–1 draw againstOldham Athletic.[19] He scored again in the following game three days later in a 3–1 win againstLeyton Orient.[20]
Flint briefly sparked a hostile relationship with fans of his former teamSwindon by stating in an interview that he did not wish for them to achieve promotion. On 3 May 2015, in the final game of the2014–15 season (during which City won the league), he scored his first ever hat-trick in an 8–2 victory over Walsall, bringing his total for the season to 15.[21]
Aden Flint was awarded Player of the Year for the 2015–16 season,[22] in which he helped Bristol City narrowly avoid relegation back to League One.
Flint featured in every game as Bristol City reached the semi-finals of the2017–18 EFL Cup with wins overPremier League opponentsWatford,[23]Stoke City,[24]Crystal Palace[25] andManchester United.[26] Flint scored in the semi-final defeat againstPremier League leadersManchester City.[27]
On 27 June 2018, Flint joinedChampionship clubMiddlesbrough for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £7m, signing on a four-year contract.[28]
Flint joined Cardiff City on 19 July 2019 on a three-year contract[29] He made his debut on the opening day of the2019–20 season in a 3–2 defeat toWigan Athletic.[30] In his second appearance, he scored his first goal for the club, scoring the opening goal in a 2–1 victory overLuton Town.[31]
Flint returned to Cardiff in January 2021 and became a key fixture of the side under new managerMick McCarthy. He bagged his first goal following his return in a 1–0 victory over arch rivalsSwansea City,[32] a goal which earned him cult status among City fans.
Flint began the 2021–22 season in fine form, scoring a late brace in an away match against newly-promotedPeterborough United to salvage a 2–2 draw for the Bluebirds. Flint doubled his tally a week later, grabbing another brace in a 3–1 home victory overMillwall. This briefly placed him atop the Championship's goalscoring charts. Flint announced on social media at the end of the2021–22 season that he would be leaving the club on a free transfer.[33] On 10 June 2022, Cardiff announced Flint would leave the club when his contract expired on 30 June.[34]
On 16 October 2020, Flint joined Sheffield Wednesday on a season-long loan.[35] He made his debut the day later, starting away toBirmingham City, helping to keep a clean sheet.[36] During the game away toRotherham United, Flint would pick up a hamstring injury which would require surgery which would rule him out for a "few weeks minimum" according to managerGarry Monk.[37] He wouldn't play for Sheffield Wednesday again as his loan would be cut short on 4 January 2021.[38]
On 15 June 2022, Flint joinedStoke City a one-year contract.[39] After playing in nine matches at the start of the season, Flint quickly fell out of favour withAlex Neil and was released by Stoke at the end of the2022–23 season, his final appearance coming in a 4–0 home loss toWatford.[40]
On 27 January 2023, Flint re-joinedSheffield Wednesday on loan for the rest of the season.[41] He made his second-debut againstFleetwood Town the following day coming off the bench.[42]
On 3 August 2023, Flint signed for League Two clubMansfield Town on an initial one-year deal with the option for a further season.[43] He was a member of the Mansfield squad that earned promotion in third place, and was subsequently named in thePFA Team of the Year for League Two.[44]
On 7 May 2025, the club announced he would be released in June once his contract expired.[45]
On 21 July 2025, Flint signed for League Two clubWalsall on a one-year contract.[46]
Flint's form at Alfreton Town during the early 2010–11 campaign earned him his first international call-up whenPaul Fairclough named his within his 16-manEngland C squad for the friendly withWales national semi-professional football team. He played the first 45 minutes in the 2–2 draw atLatham Park inNewtown, Wales.[47]
Flint was capped for a second and final time in October 2010 when he played the entire 90 minutes of England C's 1–0 away win at theKadriorg Stadium,Tallinn against anEstonia U-23's in the International Challenge Trophy.[48]
When Flint signed forSwindon Town in January 2011, he became ineligible for selection for the England C squad so was unable to make the final squad for the International Challenge Trophy.[49]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Alfreton Town | 2008–09[50] | Conference North | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2009–10[51][52][53] | Conference North | 38 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 6[b] | 0 | 47 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11[c][54][55][56] | Conference North | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 5[d] | 1 | 37 | 4 | ||
| Total | 80 | 4 | 5 | 1 | — | 13 | 1 | 98 | 6 | |||
| Swindon Town | 2010–11[57] | League One | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2011–12[58] | League Two | 32 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3[e] | 1 | 40 | 4 | |
| 2012–13[59] | League One | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3[f] | 1 | 36 | 4 | |
| Total | 64 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 79 | 8 | ||
| Bristol City | 2013–14[60] | League One | 34 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 43 | 3 |
| 2014–15[61] | League One | 46 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[e] | 1 | 57 | 15 | |
| 2015–16[62] | Championship | 44 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 47 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17[63] | Championship | 46 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 53 | 5 | ||
| 2017–18[64] | Championship | 39 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 46 | 9 | ||
| Total | 209 | 36 | 15 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 246 | 38 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2018–19[65] | Championship | 39 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 42 | 1 | |
| Cardiff City | 2019–20[66] | Championship | 26 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 30 | 5 | |
| 2020–21[67] | Championship | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22[68] | Championship | 38 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 41 | 6 | ||
| Total | 86 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 12 | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2020–21[67] | Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| Stoke City | 2022–23[69] | Championship | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2022–23[69] | League One | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[g] | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| Mansfield Town | 2023–24[70] | League Two | 46 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 54 | 2 |
| Career total | 555 | 58 | 32 | 4 | 27 | 2 | 32 | 4 | 634 | 68 | ||
Alfreton Town
Swindon Town
Bristol City
Sheffield Wednesday
Mansfield Town
Individual
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