Championship newcomers Charlton Athletic have reportedly had a £1.3million bid rejected as they chase the signature of Northern Ireland international Ethan Galbraith.
Former Linfield youngster Galbraith, who departed Windsor Park for Premier League giants Manchester United in 2017, was one of Leyton Orient’s top performers in League One last season as they narrowly missed out on sealing promotion following play-off final defeat to Charlton.
The 24-year-old scored six goals and provided a further seven assists across 42 league appearances for Richie Wellens’ side – form which has attracted significant interest from teams higher up the English pyramid.
Sheffield United, who suffered their own play-off final heartbreak last month as they lost out 2-1 to a Sunderland side including Galbraith’s international team-mates Dan Ballard and Trai Hume, are admirers while Swansea City are set to renew their interest after having a £1million bid for the Glengormley native rejected in January.
Northern Ireland's Ethan Galbraith is attracting Championship interest. (Photo by Brian Lawless/PA Wire)placeholder image
Northern Ireland's Ethan Galbraith is attracting Championship interest. (Photo by Brian Lawless/PA Wire)
Sky Sports News claim Charlton have had their approach rejected while saying Galbraith “has been watched by a number of Championship clubs”.
Galbraith’s club form has seen him establish himself in Northern Ireland’s senior squad once again, moving on to seven international caps after featuring in this month’s double-header against Denmark and Iceland.
He made one senior appearance for United during his time at Old Trafford and enjoyed loan spells at Doncaster Rovers and Salford City before joining Orient in 2023.
Versatile Galbraith has taken his game to another level at Brisbane Road with manager Wellens claiming he has the potential to play at the highest level.
“He is a Premier League player in the making and younger players who watch him can see how strong he is in his running,” said Wellens last season. "He’s unbelievable and he’s brilliant.
"We’ve got loads of young players that should be watching him and going ‘he’s intense there, he’s always running, he’s always at it’.”
Galbraith was once dubbed “our little Xavi or Iniesta” by former Northern Ireland boss Ian Baraclough while he also received high praise from international legends David Healy and Jim Magilton earlier this year.
"Knowing him from he was 14 or 15, he has a wee bit of Steve Davis about him,” Healy told BBC. “He sees the picture, can handle the ball and part of his development at Man United would have been dealing with the ball.
"When he lands on the ball, physically he isn't 100 per cent there just yet, but he sees clever passes, uses his body well...there were one or two of his performances I'm sure Northern Ireland supporters would have seen at U21 level which were exceptional.”
Current Cliftonville boss Magilton played a key role in helping develop the likes of Galbraith during his time as Irish FA Elite Performance Director.
"He's magical, I've always been a huge fan,” said Magilton. “David and I watched him growing up at underage groups and he was this magnificent young player with so much technical ability.
"When you go to a club like Manchester United, sometimes you can get eaten up, but to see him now on the international stage and to have the confidence to go and do what he's doing, he's a fantastic footballer.
"Technically he is as good as I've ever been around in terms of the young boys and he's starting to develop into a top class player.”