Ethan Stuart William Galbraith (born 11 May 2001) is a Northern Irish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a central midfielder for club Leyton Orient and the

Northern Ireland national team The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. From 1882 to 1920, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Foo ...

. Galbraith left Linfield to join the

Manchester United academy Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development League. The team is effectiv ...

in 2017. He made his first-team debut for United in a UEFA Europa League match against Astana in November 2019. He spent the 2021–22 season on loan at Doncaster Rovers. Galbraith represented Northern Ireland at under-17, under-19, under-21 levels. He made his senior international debut at the age of 18, against Luxembourg, in September 2019.

Club career

Galbraith played for Carnmoney Colts, Ballyclare Comrades, Glentoran, Crusaders and Linfield in his youth. In 2017, he left Linfield and joined the youth academy of English club

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

on a one-year scholarship, before signing a two-year professional contract with the club in May 2018. On 28 November 2019, he made his senior debut in a UEFA Europa League match against Kazakh team Astana, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for

Tahith Chong Tahith Jose Girigorio Djorkaef Chong (born 4 December 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Birmingham City. Chong joined the Manchester United Academy aged 16, after progressing through the Feyenoord youth ...

. In October 2020, Galbraith signed a new three-year contract with United, with the option of an extra year.

Doncaster Rovers and Salford City loans

He joined League One club Doncaster Rovers on a season-long loan in August 2021. On 26 October, Galbraith scored his first goal for Doncaster, scoring the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Cambridge United with a strike from 30 yards. Manager

Richie Wellens Richard Paul Wellens (born 26 March 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently head coach of EFL League Two club Leyton Orient. Wellens began his career at Manchester United ...

praised his performances, predicting that he would go on to have a long and successful career. Galbraith described his spell at Doncaster as a "great experience" despite the team being relegated. On 1 September 2022, Galbraith joined

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side Salford City on a season-long loan, managed by former United youth coach

Neil Wood Neil Anthony Wood (born 4 January 1983) is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of club Salford City. As a player, Wood played as a midfielder. He began his playing career in the academy of Manchester Unit ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 8 October in a 1–0 win against Northampton Town, Salford's first win against their opponents. On 16 May 2023, Galbraith confirmed that he will leave Manchester United at the end of 2022–23 season.

Leyton Orient

On 29 June 2023, Galbraith signed for Leyton Orient.

International career

Galbraith made five appearances for Northern Ireland at under-17 level and three appearances at under-19 level. He has made 19 appearances and scored one goal at under-21 level. Galbraith made his senior international debut at the age of 18 on 5 September 2019, in a

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

match against Luxembourg which finished as a 1–0 win.

Playing style

Northern Ireland manager Ian Baraclough described Galbraith as the country's version of Spanish international midfielders

Xavi Xavier Hernández Creus (born 25 January 1980), known as Xavi is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of La Liga club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely con ...

and Andrés Iniesta. Neil Wood has described him as technically gifted, and as a player who "can pick a pass and has all the different varieties of delivery".

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

Profile
at the Leyton Orient F.C. website * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Galbraith, Ethan 2001 births Living people Association footballers from Belfast Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's youth international footballers Northern Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Northern Ireland men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Manchester United F.C. players Ballyclare Comrades F.C. players Glentoran F.C. players Crusaders F.C. players Linfield F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Salford City F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players English Football League players