When Jon Gallagher signed up for his loan spell at Pittodrie in the summer, it was just one more staging post in a life that makes Michael Palin look like a bit of a stay at home.

Life – and football – have moved him around the globe, all part of a story that started out in Dundalk, Ireland, where the beautiful game was not top of the local agenda.

“Back in Ireland where I grew up, you are either into Gaelic football or rugby. My family was a big Gaelic football family but I never really took to it. I played up until the age of 12. My uncle is big into it and my dad played, as well both granddads, but I was football mad and I stuck with that. My family never pushed me into football but that was my sport. Niall McGinn used to play Gaelic football and during pre-season in Ireland, we sat and watched a few games together.”

Growing up, Jon also spent time in the United States, Jamaica, Singapore and England. While moving around, he played with Beachside SC in Connecticut, Home United in Singapore and England Schoolboys in England. He also spent time on trial with the likes of Juventus, Marseille, Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers. Oddly, Blackburn is not his top pick as his favourite place amongst all of those.

“I really enjoyed Singapore. It’s beautiful and so clean and modern. It is very condensed into one little area but I really enjoyed it and the weather is always warm! You feel like you are on holiday all the time. I also enjoyed certain parts of the US. Once I grew up, I was able to travel around and have the freedom to do stuff in America.”

Jon’s footballing career really kicked into gear in 2014 when he began a four year college scholarship at the University of Notre Dame, where he came under the watchful eye of Dons legend Bobby Clark.

“I got released from football in the UK at the age of 17. My dad did not think I should give up playing, so he suggested looking at the scholarship route in America, because I have always valued my education as well. My dad was big on that too. He said I could do both and wasn’t putting all my eggs in one basket. I was in England when I started the whole process and that summer before my final year, I got offered a scholarship and decided to go to Notre Dame because it was the right fit for me.

“Although you are a student you have to behave like a professional athlete. I remember the first day I got there, they spoke about the three S’s and you have to pick two of them – sport, social and study. If you pick three of them, it will not work. I never got to experience the whole fraternity stuff because I was not in one. I got home from training and then it was straight to the library to do homework and then off to bed because you have weights or a fitness session early in the morning before going off to class. It was a full on for four years.

“You have to do your academic work. There is a grade point average, essentially an average of all the subjects you take, and if you don’t get above a certain score then you are not eligible to play. The rules are enforced by the NCAA which is the governing body of collage sports. My University was very big on the academic side, so you had to get higher than the national average. You had to work and put in the time. If you do that, you can get good grades.

“College sport is huge in the States. I still watch a lot of college basketball and college football. I really enjoy those two sports. I will also watch the odd NFL game sometimes. I try and stay in touch with the college sports, although it is not always easy with the time difference.

“The University of Georgia is about an hour away from where I live. They played Notre Dame and there were 90,000 people at the game. A lot of my friends who live close to Chicago travelled down, which is about a ten hour drive for the game. After the Livingston match, I could not sleep so stayed up and watched it.

“It’s crazy how big it is. Once you go to a University, you have an attachment to it for life. I have always felt that since I left Notre Dame I’m more engaged than when I was there. It’s a good way to stay in touch with people.

“I’ve also had a lot of people reach out to me since I came here. They have been reporting back that I have been doing well and am getting what I wanted out of the loan. With social media, it is a lot easier to check in and see what people are doing. My friends in the US are able to keep tabs on me. It has surprised me a little that supporters in Atlanta have also stayed engaged with my progress, but it is nice.

“I was lucky to go to Notre Dame because it has one of the top programmes in the country, it is as professional as it possibly can be and it certainly prepares you for a full time sporting career.

“I was not ready at 17 or 18 to be a footballer and that is why I felt I made the right decision for myself, not just to mature physically, but off the field as well. I learned to take responsibility in my academics and athletics. With good coaching, I felt as though I really developed into a better person. Notre Dame was great for my development.

“A huge number of players get rejected in this county at 16 or 17. Every club I was on trial at told me I was too small and too slight. I was getting pushed off the ball too much. The first couple of years in collage allowed me time to grow into my body a bit more, put on some muscle and that helped with that side of my game. It was a good development phase. In my final years at Notre Dame, I then felt I was ready to make the jump.

“Some people take a little bit longer to be ready to play the senior game and I was one of those players. There are boys who are ready at 18 but some who sadly fall through the cracks and don’t make it maybe just because they needed a year or two more.”

Anyone who is familiar with sports in the USA will know all about the draft system. For most of the main sports such as American Football and basketball, these procedures are now huge TV events. Ahead of the 2018 Major League Soccer season, it was announced that Gallagher had signed a contract with Major League Soccer, making him eligible for their 2018 MLS SuperDraft. On 19 January 2018, Gallagher was selected 14th overall in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by Atlanta United.

“It took place in a big convention centre. There were fans there, every coach from the league was in attendance, then you have certain players who are selected to come and be there, if they think you are going to go in the first round.

“We were all sitting to the side, my family and myself, not having a clue where I was going to go. I had no idea. My agent named a few teams who were interested in me and he said they might potentially pick me. So when their pick comes up and they don’t select you, you start panicking!

“I was confident I would go in the first round and thankfully I did. I landed up at a very good club in Atlanta United. I could have gone to Vancouver, Minnesota or Atlanta. There is quite a geographical difference!

“After not making it at 18, you put your career on hold for quite a few years, so the pressure builds up. It was a huge relief when I got picked because I worked so hard for that day and the whole time at college, I was dreaming about getting drafted. It was really nice to have my family there to share that.

“You are under contract with the league and paid by the league. As with all US sports, they try and keep things as much as possible on a level playing field with the way the draft system works and which teams get to pick first. In MLS soccer, there is a salary cap as well, although I don’t know how much longer that will hold. With players coming from South America and Europe, the league wants to stay competitive.

“Coming in as a young player into the MLS, I thought it was really good the way we were looked after. One of the first things you do is fly away to a convention and meet up with all the other new graduates and go through some classes. They put us straight into media training and social media training. They went through all our profiles and told us you have to remove this tweet or take this down and you need to tidy this up. They went back about four years through and dug deep into our profiles!

“They then speak about building your own brand. Americans are so good at marketing sport and also themselves. I know players back in Atlanta have done really well with their social media platforms and they are making money from it now and getting paid to do advertising on social media. They really push us to really put ourselves out there and build our own little brands. Although it is a different culture, I think we can learn from them and learn from the way they promote all their sports.”

Life in the north-east of Scotland is a different culture from Atlanta too, so how has Jon settled in?

“My time in Aberdeen has been really good so far. I’m getting a bit more used to the lifestyle and the culture up in the north of Scotland. The weather is slowly getting worse, but I was prepared for that! It’s a very nice city.

“The boys have been great. It is a really good group and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with them. They have made it easy, as have the staff and the supporters.

“Adjusting to new surroundings has not been an issue because I’m used to moving about. I’m adaptable and just get on with things. When you are a footballer, it is very rare to be stuck in the one place the whole time. It is tough when you don’t settle somewhere. You want to be comfortable off the pitch. It allows you to focus on your football and just to be happy.

“I have moved pretty much every two years of my life so I am used to it. When I knew I was coming here, I knew how important it would be to focus on my football so I could improve as a player. But as I say, my teammates made it a very easy transition.”

Jon doesn’t just move from city to city, country to country, he moves about on the pitch too, having already been utilised in defence, midfield and attack by the Dons. In the past, some players have felt that their careers have suffered from not having a main starting position, whilst others have excelled.

“I am a victim of my own versatility at times! To be completely honest, I’m just happy to be out there on the pitch, trying to do my bit to help the team. It’s not something that overly worries me. I’m comfortable in numerous positions and it’s something I have had to do throughout my career.

“I want to be able to give the manager options.

“The manager will tell me what he wants me to do and I just have to focus on my job and try and do my best. Any time I am on the field, I have to try and win my individual battles. Sometimes I might be asked to do a role that is not always pleasing on the eye but it is an important one for the team. That’s what really matters.

“My game is all about energy and working hard. I will always put in a shift and hopefully the fans and my teammates appreciate that.”