The story behind Walsall defender Aden Flint's breakthrough at Swindon

While Flint might not have started his career at the County Ground, it was Swindon who offered him his break in the Football League in 2011. 

Flint had made his first footsteps into the game with hometown club Pinxton in the eleventh tier of English football, before joining Alfreton Town in the National League North. 

Humble roots

Even then, Flint juggled his burgeoning footballing dreams by working part-time tarmacking roads. But that would all change after three seasons at Alfreton had helped him catch the eye of clubs in the Football League.

Ex-Swindon chairman Andrew Fitton helped bring him to the club over 14 years ago in what eventually turned into quite the battle for his signature. 

"We saw Aden a few months before we signed him and he was playing in the same side as Danny Wilson's son," Fitton recalls. 

"Danny went up and had a look at him. He was always cautious so he came back and said we don't need to rush.

"Then you know what happens, the same thing happened with Charlie Austin when we signed him. 

"All of a sudden everybody was after him and the same thing was true with Aden. John Ward was at Colchester and suddenly got his eye on Aden so we had to move a bit faster.

"So instead of signing him for nothing, we ended up paying money for him."

Winning over Paolo Di Canio

Flint made just three appearances for Swindon, before spending the remainder of the season back on loan at Alfreton, something which had been pre-agreed between both clubs. 

But there was still a great degree of uncertainty over whether Flint would make the cut when returned, especially once former West Ham United striker Paolo Di Canio took the reins at the County Ground.

"Paolo came in after I left the club and he wanted finished products," Fitton reveals. 

"He didn't want people that he was going to have to spend a lot of time developing. When he arrived, it was obvious he had ability, but coming up from the lower leagues isn't always easy and he needed time."

Flint was a peripheral figure during his first pre-season in Wiltshire and looked destined to warm the bench under Di Canio. 

In a remarkable twist of fate, Italian defender Alberto Comazzi discovered he had to serve a suspension which carried over from his spell in his homeland. 

This was Flint's moment to shine and he took it. 

"I don't think Paolo fancied Aden when he first came in," former Swindon teammate Jonathan Smith claims. 

"Swindon had been relegated and Paolo was trying to move players on from the previous season, even though Aden had been at Alfreton. 

"Alberto literally found out a week before the season started and Aden was thrown straight into the XI despite not being anywhere near it during pre-season. 

"But he scored on the opening day and from there he was a mainstay in the team." 

League Two title success

Flint's header in a 3-0 opening day success over Crewe Alexandra served as a catalyst to a breakthrough season for the towering central defender. 

He went on to feature 40 times, scoring four goals, and played a key role in helping the Robins lift the League Two title at the end of the 2011-12 season. 

But it was his work ethic, not just once he had broken into the team, but beforehand, that would set the tone for a distinguished career at a higher level. 

"I remember doing pre-season training in Italy. I always classed myself as a fit lad who could run all day but Aden was right up there in terms of running," Smith notes. 

"Usually the centre-backs and the goalkeepers are right towards the back, but he was a fit, strong lad. 

"He came in with the mentality of wanting to push to get into our team and he was probably one of our most important players that season." 

Bigger and better things

Flint spent one more season in Wiltshire as he played 36 times to help them reach the League One play-offs. Promotion never followed and he left for local rivals Bristol City in 2013. 

He would become an iconic figure at Ashton Gate, scoring 38 goals in 246 games in five seasons. He scored 15 times during their League One title-winning season and scored at Wembley in a 2-0 win over Walsall in the 2015 EFL Trophy final. 

Not only that, but Flint played every game en route to the 2017-18 League Cup semi-final, scoring against eventual champions Manchester City in the second leg. 

From there, Flint has played for the likes of Middlesbrough, Cardiff City, Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday, before his most recent spell at Mansfield Town. 

Flint has plenty more to give at Walsall

Flint played every game to propel them to automatic promotion from League Two in 2024 and Smith is convinced that his former teammate still has more to give at Walsall.

"He'll be proud of what he has done. If he was good on the ball as well then he probably would've been an England international," Smith concludes.

"Don't get me wrong, he's not poor with the ball on his feet, he's just not that type of player in my opinion. 

"He's strong in the air, he's a tough lad and you need that in League Two.

"A great lad, a great career and he won't be going to Walsall just to see things out. He'll want to push Walsall as high as he can."