Sunderland AFC player will be relieved by latest transfer news involving ex-Hull City man: View | OneFootball

Eliezer Mayenda may be relieved to hear that Aaron Connolly won't be making the move to the Stadium of Light anytime soon.

Sunderland have made an excellent start to the season, with Eliezer Mayenda among their youngsters that have stepped up to the plate and shone.

The likes of Mayenda, Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg have been heavily involved - and that's impressive considering the trio are still in the early stages of their careers at this stage.

Even those in the team who are older are still in the early stages of their time as a footballer, including Dan Neil and Romaine Mundle, with the latter stepping up to the plate well after Jack Clarke's departure.

Winning their opening four league games of the season, that allowed the Black Cats to make an early statement of intent to their Championship rivals.

Their transfer business may not have played the biggest part in their success, with many of those who were at the club last season proving their worth during the early stages of this term.

However, they have brought in some promising additions, including Chris Mepham, who could be crucial to a promotion.

And there has been speculation online that another player with Championship experience was set to arrive on Wearside this week - but that has now been shut down.

Sunderland AFC move for Aaron Connolly ruled out

Aaron Connolly's name has been linked with the Black Cats - and that may not come as a surprise to some.

Their striker department has been an issue for a while now, even during the 2022/23 campaign when Ross Stewart was ruled out of action for much of the season and Ellis Simms was recalled by Everton during the January window of that season.

Joe Gelhardt may have joined during the same month for the remainder of the season, but people questioned whether he was the right fit for the Wearside club.

Last summer, strikers may have arrived, but Mayenda, Nazariy Rusyn and Luis Semedo needed time to adapt to English football and Mason Burstow struggled during his loan spell.

More forwards arrived during the most recent window, but again, Ahmed Abdullahi and Wilson Isidor haven't played in England before and will need to become accustomed to life at the Stadium of Light.

Connolly already has plenty of English second-tier experience under his belt from his time at Middlesbrough, and most recently, Hull City.

Injuries have been an issue for the Irishman, but he had a very decent scoring record last term and can be a real threat in transition.

He could have been a very shrewd addition as a free agent - and the player could have been offered a short-term deal to prove his worth once more.

However, the Sunderland Echo have reported that the Black Cats aren't currently pursuing a move for the former Tigers.

Eliezer Mayenda will love Sunderland update on Aaron Connolly

The Connolly news will no doubt be music to the ears of Maydena, who has made an excellent start to the campaign, scoring a brace against Sheffield Wednesday in an emphatic 4-0 win to get off the mark in English football.

His excellent left-footed shot put the Black Cats 2-0 up early on - and he added the home side's fourth in the second half - finding himself in the right place at the right time and latching on to the end of a cross to grab his brace.

He also registered two assists against Portsmouth, with those contributions in those two matches helping the Black Cats to secure six points.

Mayenda is forming an effective front trio with the likes of Mundle and Patrick Roberts - and those three could end up being crucial to the Wearside club's success.

Starting all five games, he's clearly liked by Regis Le Bris and that's no surprise, because he's a talented young player who will only get better with more experience under his belt.

Connolly's arrival may have reduced Mayenda's game time, even though the former spent a decent chunk of time on the bench at the MKM Stadium last season.

And with Mayenda needing game time to develop, the fact another striker won't be joining should help to aid his cause.

The fact they aren't pursuing Connolly may also indicate that Le Bris is happy with what he has right now, which is a vote of confidence in someone who is only 19 at this point.