Sheffield Wednesday promotion hero Aden Flint claimed he’d welcome a return to Hillsborough this summer. The 33-year-old is without a club following the end of his loan with the Owls and having been released by his parent club Stoke City.
Flint etched his name into Wednesday folklore in the second leg of the semi-final with Peterborough. Thrown on with just minutes of normal time remaining, his back post header teed up Liam Palmer to send the game to extra-time having trailed 4-0 from the first leg.
The Owls famously went on to win the semi-final on penalties. They followed that up by defeating Barnsley with a last-gasp Josh Windass goal at Wembley to return to the Championship after a two-year exile.
Flint played no part in the final. Still, that hasn’t deterred him from wanting to join Darren Moore’s squad for next season and in a recent interview, the centre-back claimed that he’d love to stick around.
He told The Star: “I was committed to Sheffield Wednesday and getting them over the line, getting it done. We’ve done it and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.
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“I’ve had success now at this club. It’s brilliant. It’s a great group of lads, great staff with a great manager. The fans are unbelievable. I’d love to come back, of course I would, but we’ll see what happens.”
Flint would welcome return to Wednesday and he’d be a sensible signing
Offering a permanent deal to a 33-year-old perhaps wasn’t what Wednesday supporters wanted to see following promotion. However, when you think about it this deal does make a lot of sense.
Dominic Iorfa and Michael Ihiekwe have both had injury troubles in the past and Flint has always proved himself as a reliable performer.
Flint has played the vast majority of his career in the Championship. He’s made 267 appearances in the second tier and knows the league inside and out.
The defender might not be a first choice at Wednesday next season should he sign. But, he’d be a cheap option to come in and provide a calming influence around a dressing room that he’s already well-respected in.
Flint would welcome the chance to return to the Owls ahead of pre-season training. With that in mind, the club could do a lot worse than offer him a short-term deal at Hillsborough.