Irish striker, Aaron Connolly has joined Sunderland on a free transfer.
Connolly enjoyed a 18-month spell at Hull City where he scored ten goals in 35 appearances, but was released in June following expiry of his contract.
Sunderland have subsequently swooped for the 24 year-old who is happy to finally find a new club after almost three months out of the game.
“I feel very privileged to sign for Sunderland. I have only been up here for a short while, but it’s easy to see what this Club means to people and the atmosphere on Saturday showed that.
“I want to represent that in the right way and pay back the faith the Club has placed in me by playing well and doing what I love more than anything, which is scoring goals.
“I’m ready to move forward with my career after facing some challenges in recent times and I fully understand the huge opportunity I have ahead of me.”
Sunderland Sporting Director, Kristjaan Speakman added that this opportunity marks a chance for Connolly to reset his career after a tough period with difficult loan spells at Middlesbrough and Venezia before he joined Hull.
“Aaron needs an opportunity to re-establish himself and to reset the perception of him as a professional athlete. It wasn’t long ago that he was scoring goals in the Premier League and playing for his national team, but he has suffered some setbacks.
“We all handle challenges differently and when it comes to responding, sometimes we don’t get it right immediately. At Sunderland, he’ll have the environment and support to perform and an opportunity to showcase his ability.
“It’s an important 17-game period following the next international break and we believe Aaron can add value to our squad during that period. We look forward to helping him settle and supporting him in that process.”
Connolly began his career at Brighton where he delivered eight goals in 52 appearances, amidst loan stints at Luton, Boro and Venezia – which yielded two goals in 27 total appearances across the three loans.
January 2023 saw him initially move to Hull on loan but he joined permanently in the summer on an one-year deal, and helped the Tigers finish seventh as they missed out on a play-off spot on the final day last season.
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