AARON Connolly could be in line to make his first Sunderland appearance against former side Hull City this weekend, with the striker having caught the eye of coaches during the international break and staking a fresh claim after hitting a double for the Under-21s.

Connolly was twice on target for the young Black Cats as Graeme Murty's side won 3-2 at Huddersfield Town in the Premier League Cup on Tuesday night. That followed a goal in his first outing for the Under-21s in the 6-0 hammering of Derby last week.

Connolly has impressed boss Regis Le Bris on the Academy of Light training pitches and was named in the matchday squad for the first time for the 2-2 draw with Leeds United before the international break.

Le Bris was keen to have Connolly involved in the squad that night but the plan was always to wait until after the international break to hand the 24-year-old his debut.

Connolly is still likely to have to settle for a place on the bench on Sunday, with Wilson Isidor having impressed in the absence of Eliezer Mayenda, but the former Brighton striker has done his chances no harm during the international stoppage.

After playing the first half against Derby last week, Connolly got more than 70 minutes under his belt at Huddersfield.

"Training with the group he's been really good to work with," said Under-21s boss Murty.

"He's vocal and communicates with the young players, he's teaching them by example, he's giving them good words but also isn't shy about getting after a few players if they fall below the standard which is good.

"And he's a very, very good finisher. You see that in training all the time but for him to do that [in the games], he's shown he's a threat.

"We want to make sure we can showcase him as well as we can, support him as well as we can but ultimately it's down to the player to show the right attitude and take the opportunity to get sharp and fit.

"You saw [at Huddersfield], he was quite disappointed when he came off after 72 minutes, albeit he was supposed to come off at 60, which is brilliant for us and a great example for the players."

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Tommy Watson continued his fine form with another goal at Huddersfield, with Sunderland keen to strike the right balance with the highly-rated winger, who has featured from the bench in the last three Championship games for Le Bris' side.

Despite last week's 6-0 hammering of Derby, Murty was critical of his players but was thrilled with the display at the John Smith's Stadium.

He said: "I am aware I can be perceived as quite miserable but I want to make sure our players understand what our standards of performance are, it's not just about the outcome. Standards will lead to the outcome and our standards in certain elements [at Huddersfield] was exceptional."