'Happiest I've been in a long time' - Sunderland striker loving life on Wearside

Aaron Connolly has opened up about how he is settling in at Sunderland, and it looks like he is pretty pleased to have joined the club.

Aaron Connolly - Sunderland / IMAGO / News Images

Aaron Connolly says he is the ‘happiest he has been in a long time’ as he revealed Sunderland are starting to get under his skin a little.

Connolly signed for Sunderland in September as a free agent, and then immediately opened up about his battles with alcoholism.

That itself shows a new level of maturity for the 24-year-old, who was once considered one of the hottest striker prospects in the Premier League at Brighton.

At Sunderland, though, he is one of the older players in the squad, and he says that is a nice new position to be in.

"I've always been able to get away with being immature, messing about in training, and the older boys are telling me [off],” he said. “Now I've got to set that example. I feel boring!

"I'm a lot different from how I was at Brighton, I was speaking to one of the boys about a normal day for me now and I had this thought to myself, 'I feel old'. I think I'm maturing.

"But honestly, my life has been so hectic over the last four or five years that it's a bit of peace, a bit of boring... it's a good thing. I'm comfortable with it, I'm happy to just actually be a professional footballer.

"Part of going into rehab was to get that life back with family and friends, so the next club I went into I could give everything. I wanted to be able to give 100% on and off the pitch and at the moment I have that - I know it's just about staying consistent on that now.

“Honestly, it's the happiest I've been in a long, long time - probably since I was first moving to Brighton. I'm just comfortable in my own company, which I couldn't do before. It's a nice feeling but again, I have to be consistent with it."

The city itself certainly seems to have struck a chord with Connolly, as have the people too.

Like many players before him, he has been blown away by how often he is stopped around the city by Sunderland fans, who he says remind him of home.

"I go to a gym nearby and you bounce into Sunderland fans everywhere, Tesco, the gym... I've had a lot of nice comments,” he said. “It's definitely a similar feel to being at home in Ireland, it's a homely feel.

"I think the people are quite similar, hard-working people - so I definitely get a good kind of vibe which I haven't always been able to get.

"It's been brilliant, on and off the pitch.”

Positive early signs

It feels like forever since Sunderland signed Connolly , but we can probably blame the intermational break for that.

He is yet to start a game, but it's fair to say that he has impressed in all three games in which he has featured.

It's obviously going to be hard for Connolly to get starts at the moment given the form of Wilson Isidor up front, but you kind of get the sense that he will score goals this season - and probably some absolutely vital ones too.