Where did it go wrong for Aaron Connolly at Brighton?

Remember the excitement of Saturday 5th October 2019? Having scored goals for fun at Premier League 2 level, Aaron Connolly announced himself to the football world with a double as Brighton hammered Champions League runners up Spurs 3-0 at the Amex.

Fast forward a little under four years and Connolly has been sold to Hull City of the Championship for £1.2 million. He added just three more Premier League goals to the brace he bagged against Tottenham, earning more headlines in gossip pages than sports reports.

Where did it all go wrong for a young man who appeared to have the world at his feet? The answer to that question is split between Aaron Connolly himself and the way Brighton handled their emerging star, a masterclass in how not to keep a teenager grounded, humble and working hard to make the most of his undoubted talent.

His strike rate for Albion Under 23s was better than a certain Evan Ferguson. Connolly was named PL2 Player of the Season 2018-19. He was electric against Spurs, a potent mix of pace and power reminiscent of a young Wayne Rooney.

Connolly though departs Brighton better known for his relationship with Love Island contestant Lucinda Strafford than he does his scoring prowess, the proud owner of an impressive list of misdemeanours including:

• Breaking Covid regulations and risking carrying the virus into the Albion’s secure bubble by meeting up with a woman for a romp during the 2021 winter lockdown
• Going mad with rage about Miss Strafford agreeing to go on Love Island
• Being filmed trying to start a fight in Shooshh
• Throwing his toys out of the pram when it was revealed he was not in the starting XI for the trip to Burnley on the opening day of the 2021-22 season and subsequently being dropped from the squad as a result
• Missing the trip to Brentford a month later through injury… which he decided to heal by going to a music festival
• Having the police called to his house after a bust-up with Miss Strafford

There is an argument to be made that Connolly’s attitude and subsequent behaviour was not a mess entirely of his own making.

Brighton put Aaron Connolly on a four-year contract in July 2020 worth £20,000 a week after he scored only three Premier League goals.

A youth coach at a top flight club once said that the biggest threat to youngsters is when football becomes a paycheque rather than a passion.

Connolly was earning £1 million a year before he was 21 years old. What would you have done if you were a millionaire at that age living away from home?

It is not really a surprise that Connolly thought he had made it and could start acting like Billy Big Bollocks in the pubs and clubs of Brighton.

Connolly also missed out on the grounding that most young players go through via lengthy loan spells in the lower leagues.

Bar an injury hit spell at Luton Town in which he managed only two substitute appearances in the second half of 2018-19, he never experienced getting kicked around by Championship or League One defences.

Connolly knew nothing but the silver spoon world of the Premier League, subsequently lacking the appreciation for just how lucky he was to be a well-paid top flight football player.

With hindsight, he should have been sent on loan in the 2019-20 season to grow up and score goals. Instead, Brighton overpromoted Connolly to second choice behind Neal Maupay having willingly left themselves short of other striking options.

Jurgen Locadia and Florin Andone departed the Albion that summer and Potter did not rate Glenn Murray. With no new centre forwards incoming to replace the leavers, Aaron Connolly was thrown in at the deep end by Brighton through necessity rather than choice.

By the time Connolly did finally head out on loan to Middlesbrough in January 2022, it was to try and reboot his career rather than start it.

The hope surrounding that move to Boro and playing for a no-nonsense manager like Chris Wilder unwilling to tolerate any shit was that it would sort Connolly out.

His confidence would be rebuilt playing – and hopefully scoring – regularly in a side chasing a Championship playoff spot.

The reality was rather different. Connolly scored twice in 21 appearances. One was a heavy deflection and the other left even Boro fans baffled as to how it was awarded to him and not put down as an own goal.

Some Middlesbrough supporters even went so far as to describe Connolly as their worst ever loan signing. Some accolade that.

As a result of that spell at the Riverside Stadium, no Championship suitors could be found for Connolly in 2022-23.

He instead moved on a season loan long to Venezia, cut short after six months and only five appearances.

Former Brighton player Liam Rosenior then took Connolly to Hull City for the second half of the campaign. He scored twice in six outings for the Tigers before a broken toe curtailed his time at the MKM Stadium.

Connolly did enough though to convince Rosenior to not just sign him permanently, but pay a seven figure fee to do so.

“He showed in a short time the impact he can have on not just the team but the group,” Rosenior told the Hull City website. “He wants to be here and show his true worth. I can’t wait to get him fit and for him to fulfil his potential.”

Graham Potter and Brighton were not able to help him do that. Which seems odd, given Potter was always vaunted for his masters degree in emotional intelligence.

Such qualifications should have been exactly what were needed to help make the most of Connolly’s talents. Spurs aside, it never really happened.

But Connolly is still young. He can still get his career back on track and be remembered for more than two goals against Tottenham, all those extracurricular activities and keeping the night time economy of Brighton going almost single handedly.

Going to Hull and Back might be exactly what he needs. Good luck to him with the Tigers. And thanks for providing us with plenty of entertainment, even if most of it came from stories in The Sun rather than what happened on the pitch.