Aaron Connolly joins Serie B side Venezia

Republic of Ireland international Aaron Connolly has agreed a deal to join Serie B side Venezia FC on a season-long loan from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Connolly has dropped down the pecking order at Brighton, having announced himself in style in 2019 with a brace against Tottenham, and he has struggled for game time of late.

A season-long loan move to Middlesbrough last campaign was met with mixed success as he scored just twice in 18 appearances and the 22-year-old will be hoping that the move to Italy can kickstart his career.

Connolly links up with Venezia who were relegated from Serie A last season.

Brighton technical director David Weir said, "Aaron is in a position where he wants to play regularly, and this is a great opportunity for him to get games in Italy with Venezia.

"There is no doubting his ability, which he showed when he came into the team, and he has shown at the very top level.

"The challenge for him is to grasp this opportunity to continue his development, show consistency in his levels of performance and fulfil that obvious potential."

Connolly becomes the sixth Irish player to make the move to Italy, following James Abankwah, Festy Ebosele, Liam Kerrigan, Cathal Heffernan and Kevin Zefi.