With Liverpool accepting a bid of £13m for Joe Allen, Swansea City has suddenly expressed their interest in the player and brought a twist into the transfer situation. Allen only started eight games in the league and considering that he had only a year left on his contract Liverpool are prepared to let him go for a fee and the amount offered by Stoke is more than decent. Stoke City do have the opportunity now to talk to the player but until the midfielder signs on the contract offered there is every chance of him moving to any other club.
Stoke City are a team looking to do some business in the summer and have prioritized the capture of a midfielder and a striker before the start of next season. The Potters do have some good financial strength and would not be afraid to shelve out big money for their targets which they have shown with their bid for Allen. Swansea, on the other hand, has some movement in their boardroom operations as Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan took over the controlling interests of the club and are ready to make funds available for their manager to strengthen the squad after discussions with Chairman Huw Jenkins.
When asked about Allen, a player sold by Swansea to Liverpool for £15m in 2012, at the liberty on Friday, Levien said: “He is certainly someone we have discussed.”
“Thinking about how additions to the club will fit in with the current structure is something we spend a lot of time on, and he is someone who obviously has a great history here. He is still a young player. He is someone who multiple clubs are interested in, us included.”
“Huw (Jenkins, Swansea Chairman) and I are in ongoing discussions. We are leaning on his (Jenkins) wisdom, and also the right kind of process to figure out whether that’s the right addition for us, but he is someone we have our eye on.
It is thus clear that the Swans are firmly in the race to sign Allen and reports say that they are also ready to match Stoke’s valuation with a similar bid to Liverpool. Having played for most of his career at the Liberty and with the emotions of it being a Welsh club attached, the 26-year-old midfielder would be basically returning home if he decides to resign with Swansea City. On the other hand, the project at Stoke City is also very exciting and Mark Hughes has managed to put together a team which is no longer symbolic of being a dirty, physical outfit depended on route 1 football and set pieces. Players like Arnautovic, Bojan and Shaqiri provide their fair share of flair and the Potters are now a very good footballing side who plays some attractive football.
Allen has endured a rough spell at Anfield last season and after his exploits with his national team in the Euro 2016 needs to play regularly to repeat his performances he gave in France. If he decides to join Stoke then the attacking threat up front could play perfectly with his passing and he would also get adequate cover from Imbula. Allen would not only play regularly at the Bet 365 stadium but would also be one of the key components of the team with his ability to dictate the tempo of the game in the middle. At Swansea, he would also be a regular starter but won’t have a similar quality in front of him and decent cover which he will at Stoke. Thus, according to me despite all the emotions Stoke City would be the perfect destination for Joe Allen at the moment and he can develop and enhance his reputation further under Mark Hughes at the Bet 365 stadium.
