Huddersfield Town would send clear signal of intent with £2.5m Leyton Orient transfer | OneFootball

Huddersfield Town would be sending a clear message to League One if they complete the signing of Leyton Orient midfielder Ethan Galbraith.

A new era is underway at Huddersfield Town following the appointment of Lee Grant as the club's new head coach.

Huddersfield made the controversial decision to sack Michael Duff in March, despite sitting just outside the play-off places in League One at the time, and they endured a nightmare end to the season under caretaker Jon Worthington, losing all of their final six games on the way to an underwhelming 10th-placed finish.

After a lengthy search for Duff's permanent replacement, the Terriers appointed Grant as their new boss last month, with the 42-year-old leaving his role as a coach at Ipswich Town to take on his first senior managerial post at the John Smith's Stadium.

While Town owner Kevin Nagle has taken a big risk employing Grant given his lack of experience, it is a gamble that could be rewarded for the American businessman, and excitement for the new season is building among the fan base after a strong start to the summer transfer window.

Huddersfield Town set to launch ambitious Leyton Orient transfer swoop

Grant has spoken about his desire to get much of Huddersfield's transfer business done early ahead of pre-season, and he has certainly backed up those words with action during what has been a busy start to the summer.

After their disappointing campaign last season, the Terriers released a host of senior players at the end of their contracts, including Ollie Turton, Matty Pearson, Tom Lees, Josh Ruffels, Jonathan Hogg, Josh Koroma and Danny Ward, while they have also sold winger Sorba Thomas to Stoke City.

Town signalled their intentions right from the outset of the summer transfer window as they fought off strong competition from the likes of Oxford United, Plymouth Argyle and Hibernian to sign Preston North End midfielder Ryan Ledson, and Grant then used his Ipswich connections to land the signature of winger Marcus Harness.

Despite being made several "substantial" contract offers by Wycombe Wanderers, Huddersfield managed to convince defender Joe Low, who was the subject of multiple bids from Swansea City in January, to make the move to the John Smith's Stadium, and they also beat fellow League One promotion hopefuls Bolton Wanderers to the signing of Lincoln City defender Sean Roughan.

The Terriers' summer rebuild continued as they completed a loan deal for Aston Villa defender Morgan Feeney on Tuesday, and it seems that is far from the end of their transfer business, with journalist Alan Nixon claiming that the West Yorkshire outfit are preparing to launch a stunning £2.5 million bid for Leyton Orient midfielder Ethan Galbraith.

Newly-promoted Championship side Charlton Athletic reportedly had a £1.3 million offer rejected for Galbraith over the weekend, but Town are now set to table a proposal worth almost double that figure, underlining the club's clear intent in the transfer market this summer.

Striking Ethan Galbraith, Leyton Orient deal would be a huge statement from Huddersfield Town

Galbraith scored six goals and provided eight assists in 51 appearances for Leyton Orient last season as they reached the League One play-off final, and it is fair to say he was one of the standout performers in the third tier.

After his impressive season, Galbraith is attracting significant Championship transfer interest, with Sheffield United and Swansea City also believed to be keen on the 24-year-old along with Charlton, so it is certainly a bold move from Huddersfield to attempt to outbid clubs from a higher division.

While the O's will be reluctant to lose Galbraith, Nixon claims that they will sell the Northern Ireland international if the Terriers make an offer worth a guaranteed £3 million, and given that they reportedly paid in excess of that sum for Luton Town striker Joe Taylor in January, it should not be ruled out that Nagle will spend big again to land one of his top targets.

Birmingham City showed last season that it is essentially possible to buy promotion from League One as they sealed the title with an EFL-record total of 111 points, and although Huddersfield are unlikely to reach anywhere near the £24 million the Blues were said to have spent last summer, it seems that Nagle is willing to invest heavily in pursuit of a return to the second tier.

Goals were a serious problem for Town in the second half of last season, so adding a player of Galbraith's creativity would be a huge boost for Grant as he looks to solve his side's attacking problems, and with an ability to play at right-back as well as in midfield, he would offer useful versatility to the ex-Manchester United goalkeeper.

Huddersfield's transfer activity has already caught the eye this summer, but securing a deal for Galbraith would take their business to a whole new level, and his big-money arrival would certainly send a strong message to the rest of League One.