Aaron Connolly (Irish footballer)

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Aaron Connolly
Personal information
Full name Aaron Anthony Connolly[1]
Date of birth (2000-01-28) 28 January 2000 (age 22)[2]
Place of birth Oranmore, County Galway, Ireland
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[3]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Middlesbrough
Number 26
Youth career
2005–2011 Maree/Oranmore FC
2011–2016 Mervue United
2016–2019 Brighton & Hove Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017– Brighton & Hove Albion 52 (8)
2019 → Luton Town (loan) 2 (0)
2022– → Middlesbrough (loan) 12 (2)
National team‡
2016–2017 Republic of Ireland U17 10 (7)
2017– Republic of Ireland U19 3 (1)
2019– Republic of Ireland U21 11 (1)
2019– Republic of Ireland 8 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:46, 15 March 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 September 2021 (UTC)

Aaron Anthony Connolly (born 28 January 2000) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship side Middlesbrough, on loan from Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and plays for the Republic of Ireland national team.

Club career[]

Brighton & Hove Albion[]

Connolly was born in Oranmore, Galway and started his career in the youth team of Maree/Oranmore FC in 2005.[4] He joined Mervue United's youth team at the age of 11.[5] In the summer of 2016 he joined Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion on trial, impressing enough for the club to offer him a two-year scholarship with the under-18 side.[5] He was fast-tracked in the under-23 side and also went on to make his debut for the first team at the age of 17 when he appeared as a substitute for Tomer Hemed in the 1–0 EFL Cup win over Barnet in August 2017.[6] He signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Brighton on 31 January 2019.

Loan to Luton Town[]

On 31 January 2019, Connolly joined League One leaders Luton Town on loan for the remainder of the 2018–19 season.[7] He officially joined up with Luton on 2 April 2019 after returning from injury. Connolly made his football league and Luton debut on 13 April coming on in the 68th minute at 1–1 away to Charlton. Luton went on to lose 3–1 at The Valley.[8]

Return to Brighton[]

On 27 August 2019, Connolly scored his first senior goal in a 2–1 away win over Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup.[9] He made his league debut for Brighton four days later, coming on as a substitute for Neal Maupay in the 66th minute of a 4–0 defeat away to Manchester City.[10] Connolly made another appearance from the bench in The Seagulls next fixture, a 1–1 home draw against Burnley on 14 September.[11] He made his first Premier League start on 5 October in a match against Tottenham Hotspur where he scored his first two Premier League goals in the 3–0 home victory.[12] Connolly's next goal came in the last game of the season in a 2–1 away win over Burnley, finishing the season with three goals in 24 league appearances.[13] He signed a new four-year contract with Brighton in July 2020.[14]

Connolly scored his first goal of the 2020–21 season in Brighton's second league match scoring The Albions third in a 3–0 away win at Newcastle.[15] He scored his second goal of the season on the second day of the new year tapping The Seagulls into the lead in an eventual 3–3 draw in which he came off injured at the break against Wolves.[16] Connolly came on as a substitute in Brighton's 1–0 away victory over defending champions Liverpool on 3 February claiming their first league win at Anfield since 1982.[17]

Connolly scored his first goal of the 2021–22 season scoring a brace and the only goals in the 2–0 EFL Cup third round home victory over Swansea City on 22 September.[18] He made his first Premier League start of the campaign on 15 December, where his fourth overall league appearance of the season only lasted 61 minutes, being replaced by Alexis Mac Allister in the 1–0 home defeat against Wolves.[19]

Loan to Middlesbrough[]

On 2 January 2022, Connolly joined Championship club Middlesbrough on loan until the end of the season.[20] He made his Boro and Championship debut on 15 January, playing 67 minutes before being replaced by fellow loanee Folarin Balogun in the eventual 2–1 home victory over Reading.[21] Connolly featured as a substitute in the eventual penalty shootout victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth round at Old Trafford on 4 February.[22] Eight days later he scored his first goal for Boro, in the 4–1 home victory over Derby County, putting Middlesbrough into a play-off spot.[23] It took Connolly eight further games to score his second goal for the side, opening the scoreline in the 2–0 away win over Birmingham City on 15 March.[24]

International career[]

Connolly has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level.[25] He was leading goalscorer in the qualifying stage for the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, scoring seven goals in six matches.[26] He featured in all four matches in the final tournament held in Croatia, but failed to score as Ireland were eliminated by England in the quarter-finals.[25]

Connolly was included in the Republic of Ireland U21 squad for the 2019 Toulon Tournament. Connolly started Ireland's opening group match vs China U23 and marked it with a goal and an assist for Zak Elbouzedi in a 4–1 win.[27]

On 5 October 2019, he received his first call-up for the Republic of Ireland senior team for the Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Georgia and Switzerland.[28] He made his debut against Georgia on 12 October 2019, replacing James Collins when he came on as a substitute in the 79th minute in the 0–0 away draw.[29]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of 19 March 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Brighton & Hove Albion U21 2017–18[30] — — — 2[a] 0 2 0
2018–19[31] — — — 3[a] 5 3 5
Total — — — 5 5 5 5
Brighton & Hove Albion 2017–18[30] Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
2018–19[31] Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
2019–20[32] Premier League 24 3 1 0 2 1 — 27 4
2020–21[33] Premier League 17 2 0 0 0 0 — 17 2
2021–22[34] Premier League 4 0 0 0 2 2 — 6 2
Total 45 5 1 0 6 3 — 52 8
Luton Town (loan) 2018–19[31] League One 2 0 — — — 2 0
Middlesbrough (loan) 2021–22[34] Championship 12 2 2 0 — — 14 2
Career total 59 7 3 0 6 3 5 5 73 15
  1. ^ a b Appearances in EFL Trophy

International[]

As of match played 4 September 2021[3]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland
2019 2 0
2020 3 0
2021 3 0
Total 8 0

References[]

  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Aaron Connolly". Premier League. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Aaron Connolly". National Football Teams. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Club News – League and Cup Action and Former Player starts in Premiership". Maree/Oranmore FC. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Interview: Aaron Connolly". Eire Guide. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  6. ^ Naylor, Andy (22 August 2017). "Brighton and Hove Albion v Barnet: Big chance for Aaron Connolly and Jayson Molumby". The Argus. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Striker heads out on loan". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Charlton Athletic 3–1 Luton Town". BBC Sport. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  9. ^ Garry, Tom (27 August 2019). "Bristol Rovers 1–2 Brighton: Late Glenn Murray winner sees Brighton beat Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  10. ^ Johnston, Neil (31 August 2019). "Manchester City 4–0 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  11. ^ Collins, Ben (14 September 2019). "Brighton & Hove Albion 1–1 Burnley". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 September 2019..
  12. ^ Collins, Ben (5 October 2019). "Brighton & Hove Albion 3–0 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Burnley 1-2 Brighton: Yves Bissouma's stunning strike sees of Clarets - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 26 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Ireland's Aaron Connolly earns new four-year contract with Brighton". The 42. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Newcastle United 0–3 Brighton & Hove Albion: Neal Maupay scores two in superb Seagulls win - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Brighton 3-3 Wolves: Lewis Dunk salvages point for Seagulls". BBC Sport. 2 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Liverpool 0-1 Brighton & Hove Albion: Steven Alzate scores in shock win". BBC Sport. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 Swansea City: Aaron Connolly double sends Seagulls through - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Brighton 0-1 Wolves: Romain Saïss goal takes visitors up to eighth in Premier League - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Aaron Connolly joins Middlesbrough on loan". Brighton & Hove Albion. 2 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Middlesbrough 2-1 Reading: Matt Crooks double gives Boro victory - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 15 January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  22. ^ "FA Cup LIVE: Man Utd v Middlesbrough score, commentary & updates from fourth-round tie - Live - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  23. ^ "Middlesbrough 4-1 Derby County: Play-off hopefuls Boro move into top six - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Birmingham City v Middlesbrough - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Aaron Connolly". UEFA. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  26. ^ Owen, Brian (23 March 2017). "Aaron Connolly leads the UEFA goal chart – after putting football before hurling". Eire Guide. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  27. ^ Fallon, John (3 June 2019). "Ireland U21s impress in demolition of China in Toulon". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  28. ^ "Aaron Connolly: Brighton winger called up to Republic of Ireland squad". BBC Sport. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  29. ^ "Georgia 0–0 Republic of Ireland". ESPN. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  30. ^ a b "Games played by Aaron Connolly in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  31. ^ a b c "Games played by Aaron Connolly in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  32. ^ "Games played by Aaron Connolly in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  33. ^ "Games played by Aaron Connolly in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  34. ^ a b "Games played by Aaron Connolly in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2021.

External links[]

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