Aaron Connolly: Striker says he had no hesitation over Republic U21s call-up

Aaron Connolly made his last Republic appearance 12 months ago and has been left out of the last three senior squads

Aaron Connolly says he "couldn't wait" to link up with the Republic of Ireland Under-21s for their European Championship play-off with Israel.

Connolly, 22, has earned eight full Republic of Ireland caps but has not been included in recent senior squads.

His under-21s call-up surprised many - including himself - as he initially assumed he was overage for the side.

"But I couldn't wait to get involved to show people I'm not taking playing for Ireland for granted," he told FAI TV.

"Maybe some people might have that perception over the last few years. It's a chance to help the 21s qualify for their first ever 21s tournament and just show people what I can do.

"I was a bit surprised I was eligible to be honest with you."

Jim Crawford's Republic side face Israel in the first leg at Dublin's Tallaght Stadium on Friday before Tuesday's away leg in Tel Aviv as the Irish aim to clinch a first qualification for a Uefa Under-21 Finals.

After joining Brighton as a 16-year-old in 2016, the Galway man made his senior debut for the Seagulls a year later and featured regularly in the 2019-20 Premier League season when he also earned his first Republic of Ireland senior cap.

However, his club career has since stalled and following a loan spell at Middlesbrough last season, the Brighton striker is spending this season on loan at Italian Serie B club Venezia.

His loss of form has also meant him falling out of favour with Republic senior manager Stephen Kenny but Connolly views the under-21s games as an opportunity to state his case for a possible recall.

"A lot of people have certain things to say about my career so far. I think they kind of forget that I'm still eligible to play under-21 football," added Connolly, who last featured for the under-21s in 2019 when they were managed by Kenny.

"Yeah I've made some mistakes or so-called mistakes as people like to say over the last certain amount of years so it's just a chance to go and show people that I'm ready to play and focus on football and help the 21s.

"There are boys here that I've played with since under-15s. It's just good to be back around the camp."