Has Aden Flint kicked on since leaving Cardiff City? We take a look | OneFootball

Aden Flint departed Cardiff City last summer having spent three years in the Welsh capital.

The defender did have a stint on loan with Sheffield Wednesday during this period, but featured regularly for the Bluebirds last season under Steve Morison.

The experienced centre back was a key figure in the squad, having made 38 league appearances as the team finished 18th in the Championship.

But a move to Stoke City was completed during the transfer window with Flint opting not to renew his contract with Cardiff.

Here we take a look at how Flint has performed for the Potters since making the switch last summer…

Flint initially emerged as a useful player for Stoke having been brought straight into the first team under Michael O’Neill.

But a poor start to the season for the side saw O’Neill dismissed as manager at the Bet365 Stadium, which led to the arrival of Alex Neil as manager.

While Flint remained in the side in the first few weeks of the new boss’ reign, he soon found himself falling down the pecking order.

That has left the defender with just nine league appearances so far this season, the last of which came on 2 October in a humiliating 4-0 loss to Watford.

The performances of Harry Souttar at the World Cup for Australia have perhaps further damaged Flint’s chances of making a bigger impact with the team.

Souttar has been injured throughout this campaign, but returned to fitness in time to make the trip to Qatar.

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His performances have been key to the Socceroos reaching the second round, where they face Argentina at the weekend.

That is likely to only see Flint fall further down the pecking order while already struggling to receive game time.

The defender is unlikely to earn his way back into contention without a significant injury crisis.

Perhaps moving into a leadership role within the squad will help get the best out of him, with Flint now coming to the latter stages of his career.

Popping up as a squad option when rotation is needed will also make him a useful presence for Neil, but he is no longer being relied upon to be a consistent starter at this level.