Even a fantastic performance by Wales and Joe Allen was not enough to keep the Welsh star at Liverpool. The Reds are more or less assured of selling the midfielder as Stoke City’s bid has been accepted for the 26-year-old.
While “Wee” Joe certainly had his own fan following at the club, there was no doubt that he was more often than not on the periphery of the side and couldn’t make it to the starting XI for most of his career at Anfield.
The Welsh Xavi might have a better chance of playing regular football at the Britannia, but why are Liverpool letting go of a player that always gave it his all and was pretty good during the close of last season?
We look at three possible reasons as to why Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool are happy to let Allen go.
Good money for the player
Allen came to Anfield for £15 million and the fee reported by Stoke City is around about £13 million which is not bad for a 26-year-old who is on the last year of his contract. Allen might have been in the Euro 2016 team of the tournament but Liverpool surely would not have been able to get more out of him.
The Welsh midfielder would do better playing regularly for another club and Stoke City does look like a nice option for the midfielder. Charlie Adam, a former Red also is doing well there and Liverpool would be extremely happy to get this amount for the former Swansea man.
No real growth in his time at Anfield
This has been one of the major points of concern regarding Joe Allen’s time at Anfield. Even though he has been called as a ticker in midfield or a maestro or even a Welsh Xavi, he has not grown into his role at the club and more often than not, he keeps on passing the ball around, recycling it.
This might be his role at the club but he needs to do more in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and he isn’t as dynamic as the other midfielders at the club. Allen hasn’t gotten better since he signed from Swansea and being able to sell him off does make sense since he wouldn’t be getting a lot of regular playing time at the club next season.
Better players coming through
The Reds already have a lot of quality in midfield and with the likes of Marko Grujic coming to the club this season and players such as Kevin Stewart and Cameron Brannagan coming through the ranks, Allen’s time on the pitch would be majorly curtailed.
This could have been a decision taking by Joe as well, he does want to play more and moving away from the club does make sense more than ever. Grujic has looked class in the preseason and the likes of Stewart and Brannagan would have made life really difficult for the 26-year-old but this decision is the best for both parties as the midfielder looks at a new start to his career.