Charlton Athletic must envy Swansea City after blundering transfer of eventual £10m man | OneFootball

Charlton Athletic missed out on Ethan Galbraith to Swansea City before the Swans sold him to Stoke City for £10m one year later

Charlton Athletic have had a solid start to the 2026/27 Championship season, as head coach Nathan Jones looks to cement the Addicks' place in the second tier, whilst pushing for a place in the top eight.

Charlton began this season with three wins on the spin over Derby County, West Ham United, and Preston North End, but the Addicks have failed to win any of their following five league games.

The likes of Karlan Grant, Danny McNamara, Arthur Okonkwo, and Millenic Alli all arrived at The Valley over the summer window, as Charlton kept spending to a minimum following a fairly lucrative window in the 12 months prior.

Charlie Kelman, Harvey Knibbs, Rob Apter, Tanto Olaofe, Thomas Kaminski and Joe Rankin-Costello all joined for in excess of £10 million, though the Addicks had every intention of adding to their spending spree.

Charlton Athletic missed out on the £1.5 million Ethan Galbraith deal to Swansea City last summer

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As Charlton targeted the best players League One had to offer last summer, Leyton Orient's Ethan Galbraith emerged as a real target for the Addicks, who, according to The Standard, saw a bid worth £1.5 million rejected by Orient.

Richie Wellens' side were reportedly reluctant to sell one of their star assets to a team who had not long since beaten them in the third-tier play-off final a couple of months prior, as Welsh outfit Swansea City would join the race.

Eventually, Orient accepted Swansea's bid of around £1.5 million for Galbraith, as the Northern Irish international headed to South Wales instead of remaining in London, a blow that would come to bite the Addicks.

Ethan Galbraith would have a solid year at Swansea City

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Upon his arrival in Swansea, Galbraith found himself competing for minutes alongside the likes of Goncalo Franco, Jay Fulton, Marko Stamenic, Melker Widell, and Malick Yalcouye in the middle of the park.

Despite heavy competition, Galbraith maintained his role in the middle of the park, but as the season progressed and Josh Key struggled, the 25-year-old would be moved to right-back under Vitor Matos.

Galbraith continued to excel, though his creativity and impact on the game would be somewhat diminished; despite this, he would make 44 appearances for the Swans across all competitions, scoring four and assisting two, as his performances had alerted Championship rivals Stoke City.

Stoke City signed Ethan Galbraith from Swansea City this summer for around £10 million

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Stoke have rarely been afraid to splash the cash when money has been afforded to them, and despite the £10.5 million sale of Sorba Thomas to Hull City, finished the summer window with a net spend in excess of £30 million.

The likes of Milan Smit, Justin Devenny, Jack McGlynn, George Hirst, and Luca Bombino all arrived in the Potteries for healthy fees, though none topped the £10 million spent to bring Galbraith in from Swansea just a year after he made the move to Wales for a fraction of that fee.

Since his move to North Staffordshire, Galbraith has been in excellent form, scoring three and assisting once in eight games from midfield, and whilst he cost a pretty penny, he could be a bargain if he is able to lead the Potters back to the Premier League.

Forming an excellent partnership alongside the more physically dominant Djibril Soumare in the middle of the park for the Potters, Galbraith has looked a cut above Championship level, as Charlton must be ruing having missed out on the Northern Irishman just 12 months before his eight-figure move elsewhere.

Nathan Jones must rue missed deal for Ethan Galbraith as Swansea City must be laughing

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With Galbraith's stock massively increasing in the past 12 months or so, Jones will be majorly aggrieved, having missed out on the midfielder when the chance was there to sign him on the cheap.

How much Leyton Orient's preference to sell him elsewhere rather than to Charlton played into things will likely never be known, but had the Addicks stumped up a little bit more money, they would have had a lucrative sale on their hands.

This will forever be one Jones rues, as Swansea made a huge profit on a player they signed for just £1.5 million 12 months ago, and if anything, got better.