Football League World
·5. Juli 2025
Leyton Orient: Richie Wellens issues Huddersfield Town, Ethan Galbraith transfer claim after Swansea City move

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Yahoo sportsFootball League World
·5. Juli 2025
Leyton Orient head coach Richie Wellens has revealed the Sky Bet League One club that Ethan Galbraith rejected to sign for Swansea City.
Leyton Orient head coach Richie Wellens has revealed that Ethan Galbraith turned down League One rivals Huddersfield Town to sign for Swansea City.
The 24-year-old sealed an undisclosed fee to join the Swans this summer, a move which grants Orient a club-record sale for what has been described as a "substantial" fee by the London-based outfit.
There was significant competition for the Northern Ireland international's services this summer, with Charlton Athletic having a £1.3 million bid turned down in June, just weeks after defeating Orient in the League One play-off final.
However, it was Alan Sheehan's side who won the battle for Galbraith's services - and Wellens has revealed which club in particular has missed out.
Northern Ireland international Galbraith, who joined Orient in 2023 from Manchester United, has been linked with a move away from Brisbane Road since the start of 2025.
He shone in central midfield and as a right-back for Wellens' side, securing 14 goal involvements across the League One season.
The former Salford City and Doncaster Rovers loanee played 96 times for Orient, scoring 11 times and providing assists on ten occasions throughout his two-year stay in East London.
Galbraith has now moved up to the Championship, but he was the source of interest from the third tier too.
Alan Nixon revealed weeks ago that Huddersfield were going to be making a move for Galbraith, but it appears that their efforts were wasted, as Orient manager Wellens revealed.
"He had a few clubs interested and I gave him the total choice of what he wanted to do," Wellens told Orient's media team.
"Huddersfield came in, he didn't want to play in League One - he wanted to challenge himself in the Championship.
"Charlton came in, he didn't want to go to Charlton because he didn't feel he fitted into their style of football.
"Swansea came in, he feels he fits into their style of football. He's made his decision and we wish him all the best. He gets a move to play at a level he deserves to play at. I think ultimately he'll end up in the Premier League."
Charlton Athletic were widely reported as being interested in Galbraith after they beat Orient in the play-off final to secure promotion into the Championship. Though, the race for the Brisbane Road hot-shot was heavily contested.
Huddersfield, who have been busy in the transfer window since new head coach Lee Grant joined the club, were also interested.
However, with options of stepping up into the second tier of English football for the first time, the Northern Irishman turned down a chance to stay in the division he helped Orient progress through.
Football League World had exclusively revealed that Swansea were leading the race for Galbraith's signature, while Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph reported that the deal was worth £1.5m - that may rise though with potential add-ons.
Huddersfield's move in particular for Galbraith was an ambitious one, as it was very unlikely that he was going to want to carry on playing League One football - he's more-than earned a step up in level.
It does show though that the funds are there to spend for new manager Lee Grant, so you can expect either a new right wing-back or midfielder to come in for a decent-sized transfer fee this summer if the Galbraith move was anything to go by.
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