Bristol City boss Lee Johnson says no deadline day bids arrived for Leeds United-linked talisman Aden Flint.
As Bristol City boss Lee Johnson says; “If Carlsberg did [transfer] windows it would be the perfect window,” as reported by the Bristol Post.
Not only did The Robins shatter their transfer record to secure Famara Diedhiou from Ligue 1 side Angers, they also managed to retain Aden Flint, Joe Bryan and Josh Brownhill despite reported interest from elsewhere in last season’s most impressive performers.
Flint, in particular, was a man in demand with Leeds United one of many clubs linked with a 6ft 7ins defender (The Mirror) who not only plundered 15 goals to inspire City to the League One title in 2015/16 but has also performed heroically in the last two years to keep them in the second tier.
However, Johnson has somewhat surprisingly admitted that there were no deadline day bids for Flint – despite the manager keeping his phone on in case any eleventh hour offers arrived.
Flint is rock-solid
Yet, you wonder if Leeds will regret not at least testing the water with an offer for the 28-year-old – especially with Johnson admitting that the signing of Aston Villa centre-back Nathan Baker had given them room to manoeuvre.
Leeds may have kept clean sheets in each of their last four Championship fixtures, winning two, but the lack of depth at centre-half remains a cause for concern. Pontus Jansson (below) is never too far from a suspension, picking up 14 yellow cards last season, while Everton loanee Matthew Pennington hasn’t been seen since the opening day thanks to injury.
This, therefore, has put a lot of importance on Liam Cooper, the former Leeds captain who barely featured last season as Garry Monk clearly did not think he was up to the right standard.
And though Flint would have been expensive, options at centre-half are priceless and Leeds are only an injury or suspension away from a real selection headache.
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