Aaron Connolly (Irish footballer)


Aaron Anthony Connolly is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Brighton & Hove Albion and 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. He joined Mervue United's youth team at the age of 11. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Return to ''The Albion''

On 27 August 2019, Connolly scored his first senior goal in a 2–1 away win over Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup. 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. Connolly made another appearance from the bench in The Seagulls next fixture, a 1–1 home draw against Burnley on 14 September. He made his first Premier League start on 5 October in a match against Tottenham where he scored his first two Premier League goals in the 3–0 home victory. Connolly's next goal came in the last game of the season in a 2–1 away win over Burnley, finishing the season with 3 goals in 24 league appearances.
He signed a new four-year contract with Brighton in July 2020.

International career

Connolly has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level. He was leading goalscorer in the qualifying stage for the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, scoring seven goals in six matches. 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.
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.
On 5 October 2019, the same day he scored twice against Tottenham, he received his first call-up for the Republic of Ireland senior team for the Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Georgia and Switzerland. 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.

Career statistics

Club

International

National teamYearAppsGoals
Republic of Ireland201920