Ethan Galbraith hails impact of Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill after making Leyton Orient move

The 22-year-old spent six years on the books of Manchester United after making the move from Linfield’s academy but is now switching Old Trafford for Brisbane Road.

O’Neill handed Galbraith his senior international debut aged 18 as a late substitute in a 2019 friendly against Luxembourg before the Glengormley man added a second cap to his collection under Ian Baraclough during a 1-1 draw against Romania at Windsor Park the following year.

He also called him up for the most recent UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers against Denmark and Kazakhstan although Galbraith wasn’t included in either matchday squad as Northern Ireland lost out in both.

Following loan spells with Doncaster Rovers and Salford City, Galbraith will be hoping to further impress O’Neill ahead of September’s fixtures.

"Michael has been a great help with me on and off the pitch so it's unbelievable experience going into those camps,” he said. “I get a lot out of it.

"Spending six years with Man United is something I would have dreamed of but going out on-loan was essential for me.

"Once you get to the stage where you know you won't be playing first-team at a massive club you start going on-loan. The two loans already have put me in good stead for where I am now so I'm buzzing to get going."

A major factor which helped sway Galbraith towards Orient despite interest from a number of other clubs was that he links back up with manager Richie Wellens, who he played under during his loan spell at Doncaster.

Wellens helped bring the best out of striker Paul Smyth with the former Linfield man netting 10 times as the O’s gained promotion to League One last season by winning the title.

"On the pitch he had an unbelievable career with the way his teams play,” added Galbraith. “Man-management wise with the players he is great and knows what you need to get the best out of you and he definitely knows how to get the best out of me so that was a major factor.

"I always like being in teams that play football. I was injured for the first game (for Salford against Orient last season) but played in the second and the football Orient played, they played us off the park.

"When Richie asked me about coming it was a no-brainer."