With talks over his future on hold until after the European Championships in France this month, Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen’s future at Anfield might remain uncertain for the time being, but former club Swansea City have made no secret of the fact that they’d welcome him back to the Liberty Stadium with open arms after he left in a big money move four years ago — something they also reportedly tried to do in January.
“I think it has been well-documented that Joe is going to look at his future when he is finished out at Euro 2016,” Swans chairman Huw Jenkins told the South Wales Evening Post when asked about their interest in the 26-year old. “Naturally, we are interested in good players like Joe who may be available this summer given that he has a year left on his contract,” he continued, before making sure everyone knew that they’ll be watching this situation closely. “Obviously we will keep tabs on his situation and see what happens later in the summer.”
The Reds, of course, still have time to make up their mind on whether or not to offer Allen a new deal, so “what happens later in the summer” could very well be nothing at all. While the midfielder came in for nothing but praise from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp since he took over back in October, the only talk of a new contract for him came in the form of the club pushing the matter on to the backburner. Whether or not he earns himself a new deal could depend on a variety of factors with his performances at the Euros as well as our rigorous pre-season schedule likely to play a deciding factor — something that Allen himself concurs with.
“I think it hinges on the pre-season plans and what exactly the club are hoping to do, everything comes into that,” the 26-year old said, speaking from Wales training camp in Portugal last month. “As a footballer you want to play every minute of every game. That’s been the challenge for me,” he continued, before sweeping aside any further conversation about his contract situation and future at Anfield. “As soon as the season finished with Liverpool I said to myself, ‘I don’t want to have any distractions and I am fully focused and engaged on purely all things Wales’. That’s where I am at the moment.”
