Aaron Anthony Connolly (born 28 January 2000) is an Irish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for club

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

, on loan from club

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

, and for the Republic of Ireland national team.

Club career

Brighton & Hove Albion

Connolly was born in

Oranmore Oranmore ( or ''Úarán Mór'') is a town near the city of Galway in County Galway, Ireland. It is also the name of the civil parish and Roman Catholic parish in which the town lies. It is east of Galway city on the edge of Oranmore Bay, an ...

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

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 The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

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 Tomer Hemed ( he, תומר חמד; born 2 May 1987) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a forward for Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Be'er Sheva and the Israel national team. Early and personal life Hemed was born and rai ...

in the 1–0

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

win over

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

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 The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

leaders

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

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 Brighton

On 27 August 2019, Connolly scored his first senior goal in a 2–1 away win over

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

in the

. He made his league debut for Brighton four days later, coming on as a substitute for

Neal Maupay Neal Maupay (born 14 August 1996) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Brentford on loan from Everton. Maupay started his career with Nice and was a France youth international. He is eligible to ...

in the 66th minute of a 4–0 defeat away to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. Connolly made another appearance from the bench in ''The Seagulls next fixture, a 1–1 home draw against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

on 14 September. He made his first Premier League start on 5 October in a match against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

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

, finishing the season with three goals in 24 league appearances. He signed a new four-year contract with Brighton in July 2020. Connolly scored his first goal of the 2020–21 season in Brighton's second league match scoring ''The Albion's'' third in a 3–0 away win at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. 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 The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

. 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 Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

since 1982. 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. 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 Alexis Mac Allister (born 24 December 1998) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Argentina national team. Born to a footballing family, Mac Allister started his sen ...

in the 1–0 home defeat against Wolves.

Loan to Middlesbrough

On 2 January 2022, Connolly joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

on loan until the end of the season. 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 Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. Connolly featured as a substitute in the eventual penalty shootout victory over

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in the FA Cup fourth round at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

on 4 February. Eight days later he scored his first goal for ''Boro,'' in the 4–1 home victory over

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

, putting Middlesbrough into a play-off spot. 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 Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

on 15 March.

Loan to Venezia

On 14 July 2022, Connolly joined Italian

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

club

Venezia Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

on a loan deal for the 2022–23 season.

Loan to Hull City

On 6 January 2023, Connolly returned early from

and joined

on a loan deal until the end of the season. He made his debut a day later, coming on as 61st minute substitute replacing Harvey Vale, in the 2–0

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

third round home loss to Premier League opposition

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. On 28 January, Connolly's 23rd birthday, he scored his first Hull goals, netting two in the 3–0 home win over

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

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 , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, but failed to score as Ireland were eliminated by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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, he received his first call-up for the Republic of Ireland senior team for the Euro 2020 qualifying matches against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. 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. After over a year without a cap at senior level, Connolly made a return to the Republic of Ireland U21 side in November 2022, when he was called up for their double header of games against Israel U21 in the

2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualification Play-offs The play-offs of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification, 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition involved eight of the nine runners-up in the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification#Qualifyi ...

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Aaron 2000 births Living people Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland youth international footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Sportspeople from Galway (city) Men's association football forwards Mervue United A.F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Venezia F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Serie B players Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Expatriate footballers in England Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in Italy Irish expatriate sportspeople in Italy