Bristol City’s barnstorming centre-back Aden Flint could be everything that Aston Villa wanted Tommy Elphick to be after he joined from Bournemouth.
If one statistic epitomised Roberto Di Matteo’s short-term reign in charge of Aston Villa, it was the fact that the club somehow contrived to throw away 11 points from winning positions in the first ten games of the season.
In those ten games, Villa conceded six goals later than the 85th minute.
And the fact that Tommy Elphick started each of those opening fixtures did not reflect well on his impact at Villa Park. The former Bournemouth captain, signed last summer to add a degree of solidity and experience at the back, contributed only to the nervousness infecting the club’s back line.
Therefore, as soon as Di Matteo was replaced by Steve Bruce in mid-October, Elphick was immediately hooked from the starting XI. Though, even when handed the chance, the 29-year-old has hardly done much to prove Bruce wrong.
Villa have lost on the last six occasions Elphick has started.
Therefore, with The Sun reporting that Bruce has identified Bristol City’s influential centre-back Aden Flint as a summer target, the chances are that Elphick’s days are numbered in the Midlands.
The 27-year-old appears to grow in stature in the final minutes of tight encounters, using his 6ft 5ins frame and formidable leap to provide a one-man barrier between himself and his goal. Flint averages 8.8 clearances per game and wins 6.3 aerial duels – the phrase ‘no-nonsense’ fits like a glove.
In fact, without Flint’s consistency at the back, Bristol City may have been relegated last season. Instead, they look certain to win another fight for survival with the towering centre-back netting his fifth of the season with a dramatic winner against Barnsley on Saturday.
On paper, he is everything Villa are missing. Though if Elphick was struggling for opportunities already, his chances will hardly be boosted with Flint’s arrival.
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