Why West Ham should go all out to sign Stoke’s Joe Allen in January

Back in April, the Wales Online had claimed that West Ham were interested in signing Joe Allen after it emerged Stoke City were preparing to cash in on the midfielder. However, a move didn’t materialise and he has since stayed put at Stoke.

Joe Allen, 29, hasn’t had the best of starts to the season, emerging as an early frontrunner for the ‘Miss of the Season’ award after spectacularly fluffing his lines in the 2-2 draw with Derby County last month. Likewise, Stoke are also royally struggling at the basement of the Championship table, earning just one point after six games.

The Potters boss Nathan Jones is under tremendous pressure, very much on the brink of losing his job. Jones, who took charge in January, is certainly under no illusions about his situation. Things are really unstable for Stoke at the moment and it doesn’t look like they’ll be challenging for top-flight promotion, once again.

There’s still a long way to go before the transfer window reopens but West Ham should reignite their interest in Joe Allen and try signing him in January.

The Hammers invested heavily to bolster their attack in the summer transfer window, signing Sebastien Haller, Pablo Fornals and Albian Ajeti.

By spending a large chunk of cash for bringing in offensive-minded players, Manuel Pellegrini sacrificed addressing his midfield. And that is already proving to be a mistake for Pellegrini, who has very limited options as far as central midfield is concerned.

As Mark Noble is past his prime and the likes of Carlos Sanchez and Jack Wilshere cannot be relied upon to play week in and week out due to their injury problems, the West Ham boss should sign a central midfielder when the transfer window reopens. And Allen could be a smart signing for the Hammers.

Allen scored 10 times in his first two seasons at Stoke having joined from Liverpool back in the summer of 2016. A good passer of the ball and a tenacious tackler, the diminutive Welshman can play in various positions across the middle of the park.

He is blessed with a solid engine, technical abilities and vision to spot a pass in the final third. The 29-year-old works really hard for his team and is a committed presence on the pitch that Pellegrini would love to have at the club.

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Furthermore, the Wales international has close to 200 Premier League appearances under his belt, proving to be a reliable player in the middle of the park, and would most certainly add depth to a team wanting to seal a place in Europe this term.

Verdict

Allen still has a lot of years left in him despite turning 29 earlier in March. A move to the Premier League would certainly interest the pint-sized midfielder, who has the quality and experience to make an immediate difference at West Ham.