Former Bristol City defender set for Sheff Wed transfer - seven months after Stoke move

Former Bristol City defender Aden Flint is on the move again as he closes in on a transfer to Sheffield Wednesday, just seven months into his career at Stoke City.

Flint, who left the Robins in the summer of 2018 for Championship rivals Middlesbrough, will join his third club since departing Ashton Gate. He spent just one season at the Riverside, before making the move down south to join City's Severnside rivals Cardiff City, where he played for two-and-a-half seasons before being released last summer.

Flint joined Stoke in June when Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill was in charge, but once he was sacked and replaced by Sunderland boss Alex Neil, he fell out of favour. He has not played a match since mid-October, featuring as an unused substitute on 11 occasions, as well as not making the 18-man match-day squad seven times.

Reports from Sheffield-based outlet The Star say that Flint will join the Owls on a loan until the end of the season which will take him up to the end of his contract with Stoke. Flint had a brief loan spell as a player at Hillsborough in 2020 when he was loaned out by Cardiff, but made a return to South Wales.

Flint's arrival in South Yorkshire is needed after Mark McGuinness was recalled by the Welsh club and Michael Ihiekwe was ruled out for the rest of the season. His move is imminent and should be announced later on Friday which could make him eligible to play against Fleetwood Town in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

As for Flint's career with the red side of Bristol, the 33-year-old spent five seasons as a player at City, and it was in the West Country where he was the most successful, as an integral part of the double-winning side that claimed the League One title and EFL Trophy in 2015. Flint also featured in the Carabao Cup run in which they reached the semi-finals, only to lose to eventual winners Manchester City. He made a return to Bristol last year, featuring in a pre-season friendly against Bristol Rovers, where he conceded an unfortunate own goal. Flint was an unused substitute in Stoke's away trip to Bristol City last month.