Sunderland signed Aaron Connolly, a former Brighton and Hull City striker earlier this week.

Régis Le Bris says face-to-face meetings with Aaron Connolly at the Academy of Light convinced him that the 24-year-old was ready to move on from a difficult few years in his career.

Connolly signed a one-year contract earlier this week after intensive film analysis convinced Le Bris that his ‘all-round’ talent matched his playing style. Concerned about Connolly’s career trajectory after his amazing breakthrough at Brighton, Sunderland’s head coach was keen to meet him in person to assess his willingness to return to that level.

While acknowledging that there are no assurances about how Connolly would perform on Wearside, Le Bris claimed the frank tone of their conversations satisfied him that the club should proceed with the move.

“I analysed many, many players both during the transfer window and then after,” Le Bris told the BBC. I saw several of his games previously and again during this time [after the transfer window]. I knew him, and for his profile, we needed to know about his relationship to this initiative and his readiness to return to the top level of play. We wanted to experience this connection to our energy, and after an hour of conversing with him here, it became evident to me.

“He was extremely forthright [about previous errors]. They weren’t horrible subjects, and everything was on the table. It was obvious to me that he had learned from these experiences. If you wish to avoid a subject… but he discussed everything. It was intriguing. I believe Aaron has matured, but we must first feel it.”

Underland has a lot of young players in the team who are attracting the attention of neutrals with their outstanding performances, much as Connolly did during his time on the South Coast. Le Bris sees Connolly’s experiences as important for the players, citing deadline-day signing Chris Mepham as an example of the ethos he aims to establish on Wearside.

“I think that Aaron was maybe carried away [with the start to his career] and now, he understood there are many problems when this happens,” Le Bris told ESPN.

“So his expertise can be really beneficial to the other players who don’t comprehend this. Chris Mepham is particularly intriguing in this regard since he talks in meetings with great maturity. So, for example, we’re doing video analysis this week, and I show two or three recordings of Chris making a mistake. He raises his hand and says, ‘My fault’. No excuses. This example and behavior are extremely essential since everyone makes errors; it is about learning swiftly.

“Everyone reacts differently [to early success] and now for Riggy, Jobe, we need to take care of them, to create a kind of environment where we can talk about good and bad experiences, say ‘OK, it was my fault, now I go again.'”

Le Bris cited Connolly’s physical condition as a crucial factor in his decision to allow the trade, indicating that he had learnt from previous blunders.

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