With Sunderland completing the signing of Aaron Connolly, we spoke to Hull City fan, journalist and podcaster Tom Griffin to discuss how the Irishman got on at his most recent club, and what we can expect from the 24-year-old.
So, first things first, what kind of player is Connolly?
When he was fully fit and available to play, Connolly was an invaluable asset for us. He didn’t always start most games but his pace and movement from the bench saw him become a super sub. I remember when we came from behind to beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1 and he scored two well taken goals from the bench. Unfortunately, those performances were few and far between, with the Irishman suffering from multiple injury troubles and off the field problems.
At first glance, eight goals in 31 games for you guys seems okay but nothing special. However, he only actually started 13 games - what did you make of his spell at Hull, and how come he was released at the end of last season?
We initially signed Aaron on loan from Brighton in January 2023 and after he showed glimpses of his talent - despite injury - we chose to sign him permanently in that summer and it was a gamble, to say the least. But the main reasons we released him were a mixture of the above points; availability is the best ability a player can have while further off-field problems gave us no choice but to release him. The club sadly couldn’t take a risk on someone who was injury prone and not guaranteed to be fit to play most weeks.
He was meant to be the next big thing when coming through at Brighton, what went wrong for him generally?
Connolly, like many players, suffered badly from the huge weight of expectation placed on his shoulders. Of course, he scored twice on his first Premier League start against Tottenham and from there, many then expected him to become the next big thing. It’s become clear in the 5 years that have passed that Connolly hasn’t exactly fulfilled his potential and that is disappointing. That can be put down to a mixture of bad luck with injuries and a poor attitude, much like the points made above. Furthermore, during loans at Middlesbrough and Venezia he made the headlines more for his problems off the pitch than on it. Realistically, it wasn’t until he came to Hull when he started showing glimpses of his potential under Liam Rosenior.
What's his fitness/injury record like?
This is the biggest question mark hanging over Aaron Connolly, and I suspect it's one which will follow him to Sunderland. During his time at Hull, he was often sidelined with minor niggles rather than serious ones. It lead people to question whether he was looking after himself properly and applying himself the correct way. To put it simply, when you sign Connolly, you’re taking a huge gamble on him staying fit. If he does, you’ve got a great striker on his hands. If he doesn’t, he’ll be eating up wages while warming the physio bench.
How about his attitude?
It seemed that his attitude, especially during his time at Boro, was left wanting. In terms of how he conducted himself on the pitch at Hull, you couldn’t fault his work rate and hunger to win for the team. However, this was also married with the issues he suffered off the field, including embarrassing viral videos of himself. If Connolly can outgrow those problems and mature into his potential, signing him on a free transfer could be a steal. But there’s a huge reason why no other club has been willing to take a gamble, and that’s because there are too many other external factors that come with the 24-year-old.
He's still only 24, do you think he'll be able to rebuild his reputation at Sunderland and really kick on from now?
The striker can perhaps count his lucky stars that he’s bagged a move to a play-off chasing Championship side. This is no doubt the biggest season of his career so far simply because it can go one of two ways. Connolly will either continue to show a poor attitude off the pitch and suffer injury troubles, therefore derailing his chances of becoming a star at the Stadium of Light. Or, he’ll knuckle down and live up to the potential his formative years promised by scoring goals and firing Sunderland into the play-offs. Do I think he’s more than capable of doing that? Absolutely. Do I think he’ll actually prove the doubters wrong and become a top Championship striker? I wouldn’t be so sure.
Finally, how many goals do you predict he'll score for us?
I think if he can knuckle down and fit into Regis Le Bris’ system, he can hit a similar total to what he did at Hull. I’m going to predict him to score seven goals this season.
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