Black Cats’ new striker will need to resurrect club’s dismal scoring form
Written by Ashley D Costa on 27th September 2024
Aaron Connolly, during his time playing for Middlesbrough FC.
Sunderland AFC just announced the signing of Irish international forward and free agent Aaron Connolly on a one-year deal.
Connolly, who last played for Hull City in the Championship, had a disastrous second half of the 2023/2024 season.
He played 22 matches and scored eight goals in the first half of the season, but figured in just six of Hull’s 21 games after January 2024, scoring no goals, was on the bench for seven and wasn’t even in the squad for eight fixtures.
Connolly is looking for a career revival on Wearside and watched the match against Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light.
“I feel very privileged to sign for Sunderland,” he said in a club statement. “I have only been up here for a short while, but it’s easy to see what this club means to people and the atmosphere on Saturday showed that.
“I want to represent that in the right way and pay back the faith the club has placed in me by playing well and doing what I love more than anything, which is scoring goals.
“I’m ready to move forward with my career after facing some challenges in recent times and I fully understand the huge opportunity I have ahead of me.”
And SAFC will need Connolly to deliver on his promise, after last season, when the squad included four proper centre-forwards; namely Luis Semedo, Nazariy Rusyn, Mason Burstow and Eleizer Mayenda – who between them scraped only three goals and two assists.
Burstow, on loan from Chelsea U21s, left when his loan spell ended. Semedo left the club to join Serie C club Juventus Next Gen (the reserve team for Serie A club Juventus), while 19-year-old Mayenda and 25-year-old Rusyn remain at the club.
Rusyn managed two goals and one assist from 21 appearances; Burstow one goal and an assist from 20 matches; Mayenda and Semedo managed no goals or assists after 20 and 23 matches respectively (although Mayenda’s had a great start this season) .
So poor was last year’s attacking line-up that wingers, midfielders and even defenders produced more goals than Rusyn and the other forwards for Sunderland.
The goal scorers for other leading Championship sides were miles ahead of Rusyn, with Blackburn Rovers’ Sammie Szmodics (27 goals) and Southampton’s Adam Armstrong (21 goals) leading the way, as the table below shows.
COMPARISON CHART OF RUSYN WITH THE TOP CHAMPIONSHIP GOALSCORERS
