League One outfit Huddersfield Town are the latest club to have a £1.5million bid rejected for Northern Ireland star Ethan Galbraith.
Former Linfield youngster Galbraith, who departed Windsor Park for Premier League giants Manchester United in 2017, has generated interest from a host of clubs after impressing at Leyton Orient last season.
The 24-year-old scored six goals and provided a further seven assists across 42 league appearances for Richie Wellens’ side as they narrowly missed out on sealing Championship promotion following play-off defeat to Charlton Athletic.
Sheffield United and Swansea City, who had a £1million bid rejected in January, are admirers of Galbraith while Charlton lodged an official bid reportedly worth £1.5million which was turned down by Orient last weekend.
Ethan Galbraith in action for Northern Ireland against Denmark earlier this month. (Photo by LISELOTTE SABROE/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Ethan Galbraith in action for Northern Ireland against Denmark earlier this month. (Photo by LISELOTTE SABROE/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)
Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke has now said Huddersfield, who have Galbraith’s international team-mates Brodie Spencer and Dion Charles on their books, have also had their approach denied.
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, who has one year remaining on his Orient contract, 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 said: "He's magical, I've always been a huge fan...he's starting to develop into a top class player.”