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If I was to guess now I'd say solid Premier League professional but not a guy who will play consistently, or maybe at all, for a top 4 or top 6 club. I'd expect him to outlast Brighton in the EPL though.
Just a guess obviously, its too early to tell really.
I’m with Eirambler. Too early to say. I’m thinking a decade at Premier League level, potential to be a regular starter at a Top 10 side. Has matches where he does nothing but occasionally has decisive quality. Has the benefit of elite speed but does he have the guile to make use of it consistently?
I'm probably with the pair of you. One thing I will say is that he shows moments of elite quality. His league goals last year were awesome for a player his age. And there ain't many players his age playing regularly up front in the Premiership.
I'll go with the pair of you and say he will be a solid PL player. Have a long enough career. Score 8-10 goals a season. Play off the left and though the middle.
But if something clicks and those flashes of elite quality become more frequent then he may have a few great seasons. He won't be 21 until January.
Getting so many top flight games while still so young will develop the physical side of his game and guile will come with experience. I always think - arbitrarily - it takes 100 games to lay down a marker. He could have two-thirds of those played while he's still 21. It means the chance to be a solid premiership player is in his hands, and he's developing well. In a season or two he'll be a good player for any mid-table Prem club. Luck will take care of anything better than that.
Time will Tell as The Clock told William Tell.
How good would Maupay be if he was Irish though? :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
Disagree RE: Maupay. Considering lack of service at times at Brighton he often does well to get on the end of things. Has decent pace, has grit and uses body well. Still only 24 so can improve further. In any case I believe Connolly and him can form a partnership or work together in an attacking 3 — I don’t really view them as being in direct competition with each other.
Yep been saying the same for a while now, I'd worry as well if they get in a proper striker. He doesnt involve himself enough, clearly he needs to, this brighton team dont fashion chances very easily or often and he becomes a bystander, a passenger. He wont get a move to another(premier) club with those kind of performances either, if he was performing above the ability of brighton others would be taking note. I wouldnt even been thinking of a top 4 or 6 club. Duff/keane all these lads showed early enough their promise and were putting in very good performances, perhaps not every game but fairly regularly - connolly isnt doing that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
They've played together quite a bit alright, and agree that Maupay isn't terrible by any stretch.Quote:
Originally Posted by irishfan86
I think most likely a regular for a lower to mid table Premiership team down the line, perhaps similar to Long's career path.Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
IMO at present he's not good enough to be playing regularly in the Premiership but he could do well at a decent footballing team in the Championship. A loan could be good for his development as surely Brighton will now bring in a new striker before the transfer deadline.
He does show flashes of class but they are too infrequent and he too often looks like a headless chicken and makes the wrong decision when in dangerous positions. I hope these traits disappear given more experience but I've yet to see any great improvement in these deficiencies since he burst onto the scene at the end of last year.
I see more potential for him as a wide player rather than a striker as he would get the ball in space more often and there'll be less pressure on him to weigh in with goals. However he really needs to be given chances to be playing regularly in such a position to develop his game to the required standard.
Of our current young strikers I rate his potential behind Parrott, Odubeko (if he is still ours), Idah and Obafemi, in that order, but he's further ahead in his development than all, with the possible exception of Obafemi.
I also like the look of Scully at Lincoln but its too early days and too low a level to really judge how good he can be. Let's just say at 20 he already looks good enough to be a very decent League One striker but obviously we would hope he will improve with the confidence and experience he is getting from regular games and goals.
Even if they do buy a striker, would Brighton at this stage consider him too important to put out on loan though? He features in pretty much every match for them, be it starting or off the bench. Even if that changes, a minor injury situation and he'd be needed again.
Have Brighton any Money ?
Potter clearly rates Connolly. Let’s put it this way. Connolly was the first man off the bench in the Premier League for him this season. A few days ago Potter was asked about Viktor Gyokeres, a 22 year old Swedish forward trying to break through. Potter wasn’t entirely clear on whether he plans to keep Gyokeres or loan him out as he could potentially play a role. But Gyokeres didn’t even make the matchday squad vs Chelsea.
Connolly isn’t going anywhere.
I agree he will still get game time but likely less than now. It wouldn't be a disaster to see him starting week in, week out at a decent team in the Championship who create opportunities for him to score. This may allow him to develop that killer instinct and confidence he needs to add to his game and could raise his stock considerably if he did well, as was the case with Ben White.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
Lads, it is less than a year since Connolly made his debut. He's still 20, just enjoy watching him develop. People going on about Keane and Duff, both made their name in the championship, Connolly is trying to impact at Premier League level.
No harm in a bit of idle crystal balling. And why is it so wrong to speak about his potential? I think a lot of the points made here have been interesting and insightful and have read worse discussions in my day.Quote:
Originally Posted by Exgrad
Haha fair question. That's why I asked originally if my green tinted specs are telling me something different about Connolly.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
I do think Maupay is poor though. I just can't work out how good or otherwise Connolly is. I still think he makes excellent runs off the ball and would be found by better players around him. Hopefully Lallana can do that this season for him
Ok; Connolly is a bit small , Is he that fast ? He certainly wasted two good chances for Ireland recently, How good of a finisher is he ?
Other that that he is bloody marvellous = My Scouting report ! !
He’s very fastQuote:
Originally Posted by seanfhear
Obafemi > Connolly > Afolabi > Idah > Parrott
Maupay was rubbish vs Chelsea.Quote:
Originally Posted by Razors left peg
I'd like to see Connolly in a team that tends to be on top of games. I get frustrated watching him dart around as the first line of defence, pressing defenders, without ever having a rat's chance of even getting a touch. You rarely get a look at him attacking a slighly stretched defence. It's a tough education for him where he is.