Hull City closing in on loan deal for Aaron Connolly which would see him reunited with familiar face
HULL CITY are closing in on a deal to rescue Aaron Connolly from his Italian nightmare.
Connolly joined Venezia on loan from Brighton in a bid to kick-start his career.
And he featured in their first five games in Serie B but has not been involved since returning from international duty with the Ireland under-21s in September.
Venezia chairman Dncan Niederauer confirmed last month that his loan deal was set to be cut short and Connolly will hope to fare better at Hull.
He knows Tigers boss Liam Rosenior from his stint as assistant boss with Brighton’s under-23 side.
And Rosenior is hoping to tie up a loan deal for him and Crystal Palace winger Malcolm Ebiowei.
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Rosenior said: "They are two players who I really like, two players I think the fans will be excited by when they see them play.
"I want players who can score goals and create and that's something we wanted to address and hopefully we get those two lads done sooner rather than later."
The Galway man burst onto the scene in October 2019 when he scored twice against Spurs on his first Premier League start and made his Ireland debut a week later against Georgia.
He has collected another seven senior caps and has a total of 45 appearances in the English top flight but his fortunes have plummeted for both club and country.
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His last outing for Brighton was in December 2021, spending the second half of last season at Middlesbrough where injury issues curtailed his impact.
Stephen Kenny has not used him since taking him off at half-time of the 1-1 draw at home to Azerbaijan in September 2021.
Having dropped out of the senior squad, he returned to try to help the Under-21s qualify for their first Euros but Jim Crawford’s side were beaten on penalties by Israel.
EVAN ALMIGHTY
Connolly is under contract at Brighton until the summer of 2024 but does not appear to be part of the club’s first-team plans, despite Roberto De Zerbi replacing Graham Potter as boss.
Although Danny Welbeck is currently injured, De Zerbi’s faith in Evan Ferguson has been repaid with the 18-year-old becoming the youngest Irish-born scorer in the Premier League when he netted against Arsenal on New Year’s Eve.
Meanwhile, Brighton keeper Killian Cahill, 19, has joined Bognor Regis Town - who compete in the seventh-tier Isthmian League Premier Division - on loan.
The Meathman joined the Seagulls from Shamrock Rovers 12 months ago.