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Man Utd U23’s midfielders case study: Ethan Galbraith
As I've said for a while, one of the players that is being overlooked is Ethan Galbraith. The Northern Ireland international joined Man Utd in the 2017/2018 & since then he's impressed his United & Northern Ireland coaches.
As I've said for a while, one of the players that is being overlooked is Ethan Galbraith. The Northern Ireland international joined Man Utd in the 2017/2018 & since then he's impressed his United & Northern Ireland coaches.
Statistics:
2017/18: 10 starts, 5 subs - 1 goal, 1 assist (U18’s level)
2018/19: 20 starts, 4 subs - 4 goals, 4 assists (U18’s level) and 1 start, 2 subs (U23’s level)
2019/20: 18 starts - 2 goals, 1 assist (U23’s level)
2020/21: 9 starts - 2 goals, 1 assist (U23’s level)
2017/18: 10 starts, 5 subs - 1 goal, 1 assist (U18’s level)
2018/19: 20 starts, 4 subs - 4 goals, 4 assists (U18’s level) and 1 start, 2 subs (U23’s level)
2019/20: 18 starts - 2 goals, 1 assist (U23’s level)
2020/21: 9 starts - 2 goals, 1 assist (U23’s level)
Rather than his league form, it was United's participation in the Sparkasse & VGH Cup in 2018 which made Galbraith's performances notable. United were looking to win the trophy again and achieve what Gomes, Chong and co had achieved. Well, they did it.
United tend to send younger age groups and our U17's won an U19's tournament. Ethan Galbraith ended up scoring 3 goals, v TuSpo Petershütte, Hannover, JSG Radolfshausen (also sent off) in the group stages. 
They won the trophy.
They won the trophy.
Here's one of the goals Ethan scored in the competition v Hannover 96...
Also in 2018, his only goal of the season v Manchester City won United U18's the PL North... Well, he loves scoring these type of goals once in a while... Video via MUTV.
In 2019, he scored a beautiful volley v Doncaster... It was one of those games where United needed those perfect shots and he was there.
Video via @academyreview https://twitter.com/academyreview/status/1189510358446288897
Video via @academyreview https://twitter.com/academyreview/status/1189510358446288897
In August, he scored this lovely Scholes - esque goal and has been praised as the new Scholes since... Hence @DavidJPritt saying that he is better than him, but I'll get back to it later. https://twitter.com/fabiola_cejku/status/1297960250901962752?s=20
https://twitter.com/fabiola_cejku/status/1297960250901962752?s=20
Here's another v Rangers, just outside of the box, what he usually prefers when he takes a shot. As seen in the above cases, when given the right space, his shot can be deadly.
Other than scoring goals, which probably doesn't happen as often as it should, Galbraith is known for his approach towards the game. He reads the game well and on the other hand, his passing precision has been immense.
Ethan Galbraith has been tidy in the deeper midfield role. This was mostly notable when playing alongside Garner and Levitt, a trio that ran the show in last season's PL 2 Division 2. While it was Garner scoring mostly, these three complemented one another.
It was rarely a time when they put in a bad performance with our midfield being one of the best at the respective group age. They did play a few times together this season as well, but Levitt and Garner left on loan. Ethan played in a deeper role while Dylan was missing.
At the beginning of this season, Mejbri replaced Levitt (who went on loan) in a deeper role. Levitt's composure was missing and United had issues retaining the ball and certainly were adventurous. It didn't go well and we lost 2-0.
Neil Wood played Galbraith in a deep midfield of two in a partnership with Mejbri. Against Everton, again a much physical side, United were tidy in position & had to explore every chance coming from the midfield. Galbraith converted a 97th min penalty to win the game.
While statistics might be meaningless at times, they did Ethan justice v Everton:
113/124 passes completed (91%)
17 passes into the final third
3 passes into the penalty box
12 long passes completed
10 recoveries made
6 duels won
2 through passes
1 goal
Stats via @utdarena
113/124 passes completed (91%)
17 passes into the final third
3 passes into the penalty box
12 long passes completed
10 recoveries made
6 duels won
2 through passes
1 goal
Stats via @utdarena
Against West Ham, Galbraith was played in a more advanced role while it was Mejbri was sitting deep. In a game full of confusion, Hannibal was sent off and Ethan had to cover more.
In a perfectly executed penalty he opened the scoring in the derby last December. Other than that his composure in midfield was brilliant and despite not winning his performance were definitely one of the highlights of the game.
So far his only appearance in the first team and competitive debut for United was in in November, coming on for the final few minutes of the Europa League match against Astana. Other than that, he has been involved with first team training several times.
If you are interested in watching some of his performances here...
What do the coaches say about him? Here's what former Northern Ireland international Jim Magilton said back in 2018:
"I remember bringing Ethan to train with our Under-21 team when he was 16 and he was different class. He shone like a beacon in that company."
"I remember bringing Ethan to train with our Under-21 team when he was 16 and he was different class. He shone like a beacon in that company."
Barraclough:
“Not to put too much pressure on his shoulders, but he’s our little (Andres) Iniesta or Xavi, someone who can get on the ball and manipulate the ball and find positive passes.”
“Not to put too much pressure on his shoulders, but he’s our little (Andres) Iniesta or Xavi, someone who can get on the ball and manipulate the ball and find positive passes.”
Coach Neil Wood said: "When you think of the midfielders we had in there, we’d got Jimmy Garner, Dylan Levitt and Ethan Galbraith – a good mix of talent as they have all got different things that complement each other so well."
Last year, I wrote about him on @StrettyNews about his performances this season. https://strettynews.com/2020/11/08/ethan-galbraith-another-midfield-maestro-in-the-making/
