Brighton confirm latest exit as striker makes surprising career choice

Aaron Connolly has joined Serie B Venezia on a season-long loan. The 22-year-old made six appearances in all competitions for Albion last season, before spending the second half of the campaign on loan with Middlesbrough.

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

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.”

The Republic of Ireland international joined Albion’s academy in 2016, going onto make his first team debut a year later in the Carabao Cup.

He scored twice on his full Premier League debut in a 3-0 win over Tottenham and has gone onto make 52 appearances in all competitions for Albion, scoring eight goals.