Sunderland look set to sign free agent striker Aaron Connolly, in a move that’s dividing opinion on social media.
On Monday, reports emerged claiming that Sunderland are set to sign Aaron Connolly on a free transfer, following his release by Hull City at the end of last season.
Th 24-year-old former Brighton man netted eight goals in 13 Championship starts for the Tigers. But it was his injury record that forced Hull into letting Connolly leave as a free agent.
He made 24 total appearances in the league with multiple injuries keeping him sidelined for almost half of the 2023/24 Championship campaign.
Sunderland started the summer in desperate need of strikers and ended the summer transfer window with three new ones through the doors at the Stadium of Light.
Wilson Isidor joined on loan from Zenit and Ahmed Abdullahi joined on a permanent deal from Gent; Abdullahi is currently inured and not expected to feature for a while yet, whilst Isidor may yet be used more as a winger.
- READ MORE: Sunderland must learn valuable lesson from 2024 signing before completing Aaron Connolly deal
Marco Gabbiadini shares verdict on Aaron Connolly to Sunderland
Sunderland do still seem to be lacking an out and out no.9, and especially one that boasts Championship experience.
Connolly is both of those things and at 24 he’s still at a good age, so if he does hit the ground running and prove to be a decent signing, he could become another valuable asset for the Black Cats.
Giving his verdict on the news, former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini said on Total Sport: “He scored more goals than all strikers that have played in the last year-and-a-half put together, hasn’t he?
“It probably shows you that things didn’t quite fully go to plan in the transfer window. There’s a mixture of players come in who we don’t know too much about yet, and he can probably add to that list in a way.
“But if he scored eight goals last season, that doesn’t sound too bad a return if he was only starting 13 games… It adds another dynamic to what is usually an area of the pitch where you do like to have some options.”
Kristjaan Speakman still brushing past Sunderland striker issue
Sunderland enjoyed a mostly decent summer transfer window. The signings of names like Milan Aleksic in particular looks very exciting.
But Kristjaan Speakman didn’t sign a striker with prior Championship experience, which is something that almost every Sunderland fan wanted to see happen in the summer.
Now having to sign Connolly on a free transfer, it suggests that Speakman has recognised his summer mistake, like Gabbiadini suggests in his above comments.
And it’s a risk for Sunderland who often have a lengthy injury list. Connolly may want more than a one-year deal too, like Ian Poveda in the summer, and so Sunderland risk bringing in a player who won’t play all that much.