Swansea City head coach Alan Sheehan insists he “wouldn’t disagree” with club legend Lee Trundle’s verdict that Northern Ireland star Ethan Galbraith is ready for the Premier League – but insists he’s determined to keep hold of the midfielder “for a long time”.

Galbraith’s stock rose further during the recent international break with the 24-year-old producing assured performances in World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Germany.

Former Linfield youngster Galbraith only joined Championship outfit Swansea from Leyton Orient during the summer in a deal worth £1.6million, but he’s already being tipped for a move to England’s top-flight.

Galbraith has quickly turned into a fan favourite in Wales and is a key player for both club and country, establishing himself in Michael O’Neill’s senior panel over the past 12 months.

placeholder image — Northern Ireland's Ethan Galbraith. (Photo by Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

He previously spent time on the books of Premier League giants Manchester United, registering one Europa League appearance, and fans of the Red Devils have called for Ruben Amorim to look at Galbraith as an option to solve his midfield crisis at Old Trafford.

Trundle said on social media this week that Galbraith "is Premier League standard" with Sheehan in agreement – but he doesn’t want to lose his talisman.

"You guys do the reports and the headlines and all of that," said Sheehan. "But look, nobody rates Gally as highly as me and my staff and the players within the building, and our fans.

"He's ours right now and hopefully he will be for a long time. He's somebody who moves well, he's good with the ball, he can play in different positions, he's good in small spaces.

"Sometimes when you bring players in from different leagues and it's their first time in the Championship, it takes time and people develop at different speeds. But he's somebody that's come in and hit the ground running really.

"My only worry is managing his minutes so he doesn't get burnt out and he's not on 30 games in November."

Galbraith signed a three-year contract with Swansea so it would likely take a bumper fee to convince the Championship club to let him leave.

He will be unavailable for Northern Ireland’s World Cup qualifier in Slovakia next month after picking up his second booking of the campaign for a foul on Germany’s Aleksandar Pavlovic.

Galbraith has formed a solid connection on the right-hand side with Liverpool’s Conor Bradley, who missed Monday’s clash at Windsor Park through suspension.

“It’s a horrendous thing,” Galbraith said of his yellow card. “I think you’ve seen it with Conor the other night.

"You do have it in the back of your mind the whole game.

“It’s one of the ones that was avoidable as well. I took the heavy touch and I’ve gone to play the ball again and maybe I did catch him – it’s frustrating.”