Championship outfit Leeds United were one of the sides who were heavily linked to Bristol City’s centre-back Aden Flint during the summer transfer window. Flint was one of the finest performers in the English second division last season and contributed massively in ensuring that the Robins keep their status of being a Championship side intact, and no wonder why Thomas Christiansen had put him on his radar and wanted to make him sign on the dotted line.
The Whites were very shrewd in their recruitment strategies under the tutelage of Christiansen. They brought some quality players in the shapes of Vurnon Anita, Ezgjan Alioski, Matthew Pennington, Caleb Ekuban, Felix Wiedwald and Samu Saiz to their arsenal and on paper as well on the pitch, they have indeed looked like a side which has the potential of earning an uplift.
They have started the season in a fine fashion, having collected 11 points from their first 5 league outings. The former APOEL boss has been making full use of the pedestal which Garry Monk created at Leeds United and it is quite riveting to see them ply their trade so well this season.
However, the failure of the Peacocks to sign Flint is looked upon with suspicious eyes as many believe that the Yorkshire based club made a massive blunder by now roping him into their ranks. In all fairness, it should be underlined that their central defence does lack the requisite depth which could have been sorted with the availability of the 28-year-old defender in their books.
Leeds United have managed to manoeuvre 4 clean sheets from their first 5 games, thanks to the strong central defensive partnership between Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper. These two centre-backs have got along nicely and have been successful in injecting resilience to the backline. After the departure of Kyle Bartley to his parent club Swansea City, Cooper has provided the much-needed solidity and has built a commendably strong relationship with the former Torino defender at the heart of Christiansen’s defence.
Pennington, a hot prospect who has been signed on loan from Everton, is currently out with an ankle injury. He is due to return in the coming weeks, and thus, Flint could have imposed a strong challenge for bagging a place in the starting line-up of Christiansen.
The season is a long and tiresome one and the former Swindon Town defender, with the experience and calibre that he possesses, could have been an appealing asset for them to bolster their chances of earning a promotion.
