SO SHOCKING;Regis Le Bris finally conclude on Aaron Connolly departure

WHEN the idea of signing Aaron Connolly was first put to Regis Le Bris, Sunderland’s head coach set about watching some footage of the striker in action.

And he says it took just 10 minutes to know Connolly had the class to be an asset for Sunderland.

Of course, ability is only one element of what it takes to succeed in the game and Le Bris and Sunderland had to sit down with Connolly and get the striker’s take on why a career that promised so much had nosedived and left the 24-year-old without a club, just five years after breaking onto the Premier League scene.

But after Connolly opened up to Le Bris in a tell-all discussion in the head coach’s Sunderland office – revealing the battles that he went public with during the international break – the Frenchman was confident the former Brighton man was in a position to put his “mistakes” behind him.

And Le Bris also quickly came to another conclusion: that Connolly was desperate to be fit and ready to feature for the Black Cats against his former club Hull City this afternoon.

“I think that it was a specific goal for him to be ready for that game and it fits with his pathway before,” said Le Bris ahead of Sunderland’s trip to the MKM Stadium today.

“We haven’t rushed the project, it was perfect, and I don’t know if we will use him but he is available.”

Connolly had the world at his feet after his blistering introduction to Premier League football with Brighton in 2019 but it was too much too young for the striker and the start of a downward plunge.

Failed loan moves to Middlesbrough and Venezia followed and an alcohol problem prevented Connolly from getting back on track. But after his Hull release – when his “life was a mess” – he called for help and after summer treatment the Sunderland opportunity presented itself.