By Russell Edge

10th Oct, 2020 | 1:10pm

Exclusive: Sheffield Wednesday & QPR set sights on signing Cardiff City star

Sheffield Wednesday and Queens Park Rangers are plotting moves to sign Cardiff City defender Aden Flint before Friday’s transfer deadline, Football Insider understands.

The 31-year-old has fallen down the pecking order with the Bluebirds and is not in manager Neil Harris’ plans moving forward.

A recruitment source has told Football Insider that both Wednesday and QPR are looking to take advantage of Flint’s situation and sign the 6ft 5in [Transfermarkt] centre-back before the domestic window shuts on 16 October.

Flint joined Cardiff from Middlesbrough last summer for a fee reportedly worth a potential £6million and went straight into the starting XI under Harris. D

However, despite making 26 consecutive league starts from the opening day of the season, the Nottingham-born defender dropped to the bench in January and was left as an unused substitute for the rest of the Bluebirds’ Championship games.

He has been left out of the matchday squad for Cardiff’s opening four league games this season and was only on the bench for the 3-0 League Cup defeat to Northampton Town.

With Championship clubs able to sign players from the Premier League and across the EFL until Friday, both Sheffield Wednesday and QPR are keen on offering Flint an escape route from the Cardiff City Stadium.

Wednesday boss Garry Monk is looking to add to his squad after an indifferent start the season, with the Owls currently on -7 points after a 12-point deduction before the new campaign kicked off.

QPR have also picked up five points from their opening four games but have kept just one clean sheet so far.

In other news, Darren Bent claims a Tottenham star could be on the way to the Championship.