Aden Flint has swapped the North-East for the South-West as he completed his move to Cardiff this afternoon for £4m rising to £6m in add-ons. A year after joining Middlesbrough from Bristol for a total of £7m.

Flint and Tony Pulis looked set to be a match made in heaven after the defended had racked up an impressive 36 league goals in 206 league starts for the Bristol club, but as he departs the Riverside he has just one goal to his name in 39 appearances.

The contrast in goals in astonishing when you consider the managers track record for set-piece success. How can there be such a difference? When looking at Flints time at Bristol you can see the range of different goals he scored, a volley, rabona-backheel and tap-in at the back post completed a hat-trick for Aden! Whereas at the Teesside club it felt very much like he was the focus point of every direct corner. His massive height of 6ft 6 might have made Pulis think he could only use his head as an asset when in reality he might have been more productive at the back post with his feet – as he has already showed Woodgate when he scored his goal in pre-season, at the back post, during Middlesbrough’s game at the weekend with Hartlepool.

At Bristol Flint won the Player of the Year award two years in a row. Whereas Flint labelled his season up-north as ‘diabolical’.

As diabolical goes Flint can still be proud of being part of the leagues best defence. Conceding only 41 goals – the joint lowest in the league, an average of 0.89 goals a game. A match that seemed to be made in heaven showed it’s weakness in the first game when Flints poor back pass cost the Teessiders a goal.

At the end of the season the match is broken apart, with both the manager and the player now elsewhere. There’s no hard feelings for Flint as he heads down south, just one of regret as the fans can’t help but dream of what could’ve been.

Will Middlesbrough replace Flint? With the versatility of McNair and Ryan Shotton, as well as the young prospects Nathan Wood and Sam Stubbs fighting for a chance in the first team it’s not likely that Middlesbrough will be looking for a permanent replacement for Flint. Although it is rumoured that the Teesside club are interesting in taking Bielik on loan from Arsenal, this may not be as likely as once thought by the club as the youngster is now looking for a permanent move after he was told his contract wouldn’t be extended.

In all likelihood Woodgate was rumoured to be looking to sell Flint anyway this season, as he doesn’t feel the defended meets his desire to play out from the back this season.