Hoffenheim interested in Aaron Connolly
Aaron Connolly’s fantastic form so far this season for Brighton and Hove Albion’s Under 23s hasn’t gone unnoticed with German club Hoffenheim said to be interested in signing the Irish striker.
Connolly has 15 goals in 15 appearances to his name already in 2018-19. He’s notched nine times in 10 Premier League 2 matches, five in three Checkatrade Trophy games and one from two Premier League International Cup outings.
Despite his scoring exploits, Connolly is still yet to make the match day 18 for a league game since joining the club. He was included in the travelling party for the 2-1 defeat away at Cardiff City, but Viktor Gyökeres was named on the bench instead.
Connolly apparently has doubts about whether he’ll be giving a first team opportunity with the Albion and as a result, he is stalling on signing an extension to his current deal which runs out at the end of the season.
Connolly’s position is understandable. No player has managed to make the leap from development squad to first team regular since Solly March five years ago and Chris Hughton has given league debuts to only two players from the bench in his near-five years at the club – Rob Hunt away at Burton Albion and James Tilley in an end-of-season dead rubber at Middlesbrough.
A move to Hoffenheim would therefore be attractive to the Irish striker. Encouraged by the success of the likes of Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund, Ademola Lookman at Red Bull Leipzig and Reiss Nelson who is enjoying a successful loan spell with the Bundesliga club tracking Connolly, more British players are now looking to Germany as a more realistic route to first team football at a young age.
For their part, German clubs have been buoyed by the success of signing young British talents, especially since England’s age group sides began winning major European and World tournaments. Last season, seven young English players played for Bundesliga sides having been lured to the Fatherland with the promise of regular football to accelerate their developments.
In a bid to try and convince Connolly that his future lies at the Amex, Hughton is said to be open to the idea of sending him out on loan in January to a Football League club where he can prove himself by scoring regularly ahead of a potential full time promotion to the first team.
That decision could well hinge on what happens with Jurgen Locadia. Locadia told a Dutch newspaper he wants a move in order to play first team football, having not been able to dislodge Glenn Murray from the starting line up since his £14m arrival from PSV Eindhoven.
Should Locadia go and no new striker arrive, Connolly would surely be promoted to third choice behind Murray and Florin Andone. If that were the case and with Hughton likely to field weakened sides in the FA Cup, he could well find himself getting the first team opportunity he craves.
It isn’t just Hoffenheim who are interested in the 18-year-old’s talents either. Both Manchester City and Manchester United are said to be monitoring the situation, with Connolly having gone on trial at Old Trafford prior to signing for the Albion in the summer of 2016.
