Rob Davies
Joe Allen is interesting a number of clubs as his Stoke City contract nears its end with newly promoted Fulham and Bournemouth touted as possible destinations by Wales Online.
The newspaper reports that as many as 12 clubs at home and abroad have genuine interest in a move for the midfielder who moved to Liverpool from SA1 in 2012.
A week ago today Russell Martin spoke of his admiration for the player and his hopes of getting a deal done for the Welshman to return to where it all started back in 2007 – when he made his playing debut.
But things look to have got a little bit more complicated over the past few days with Stoke City understood to have held talks with Allen over his future but not including him on the club’s released list.
There’s little question that the Potters could afford to offer him a much more substantial wage; same can be said for Fulham and Bournemouth, but are those two clubs actually interested in a 32 year old midfielder who has done little at club level since he left Liverpool in 2016?
One would wager that it’s simply just paper talk, either attempting to secure another deal at Stoke or trying to force Swansea’s hand in getting a deal lined up – something which is known to be Allen’s preferred option.
Former Swan Owain Tudur-Jones has weighed in with his thoughts this week on a potential move as a close friend of Allen’s:
“Swansea are going to get the chance to get Joe, potentially on a quarter of his wages, and he’s happy to do that. So if the club decides to say, ‘No we’re not going to give it the go ahead,’ well, come on.
“It’s more than just what Joe can actually do on the field. He’s not the most passionate in terms of giving speeches and bringing out the best of people in that way, it’s more about how he behaves, how he speaks to people personally.
“But it’s more than that as well because of the feeling around the club, they’ll sell shirts. They’re going to miss a massive opportunity if they don’t act on this.”
Allen made 51 appearances for Stoke last season and officially becomes out of contract on June 30th. Where will he end up? Is his agent stirring the pot hoping for more?
This one could drag on for a little while yet and the Swans would be wise that if there was such significant interest elsewhere to walk away from the situation and watch from afar.
The reason he “hasn’t done much” at SC is that Michael O’Neill hasn’t the first clue what he is doing- eg loaning out Sturridge and Afobe – who are scoring more goals than Stoke combined. Allen would be great back-up for Bournemouth.