By Ewah Chika.
Stoke City is one Premier League club that is surprising quiet in the current transfer window . With the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Bournemouth having made more than three signings already, Mark Hughes' side had only signed unknown Egyptian winger Ramadan Sobhi from Al Alhy in Egypt.
This is the reason the signing of former Liverpool Welsh central midfielder Joe Allen for £13 million on a five year deal on Monday didn't come as a surprise. Allen was tipped for the big stage during his time in Swansea with Brendan Rodgers before his plummeting during his time at Liverpool under both Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp.
"I was really excited as soon as I heard of the club's (Stoke ) interest and It wasn't a difficult decision for me to make. I am incredibly excited about my future here at Stoke City," Allen said after signing for the club .
Allen is an early developer after making his professional debut aged 16 in January 2007 for Swansea in League One. The midfielder shined in his debut season in the Premier League which was the reason he was signed for £15 million by Liverpool in 2012.
The signing of the midfielder is a good move for Stoke who under Hughes (appointed in 2013) seem to be punching above their height finishing in the top half of the table for two years successively. Hughes has also being credited with the changing of the club's long-ball playing style which was the style of Tony Pulis. Stoke now play with flair as the likes of
Ibrahim Affelay and Bojan have being successful since signing . The club have at the same time not lost their defensive solidity as they are still difficult to beat but more deadly on the counter as a result of their direct and physical style with the likes of Arnautovic and Biram Diouf.
The midfielder is expected to be a regular starter for the club and is also expected to partner French man Giannelli Imbula who has been impressive in his short time at the club after his signing from Porto in the winter . The pair will play in the centre of the midfield while the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic support main striker Mame Biram Diouf on the wings as Ibrahim Affellay or Bojan play in the No.10 role slightly behind the main striker. This will mean the likes of Stephen Ireland, Charlie Adam, Glenn Whelan will have to bid their time and wait for the opportunity to impress when called upon .
Stoke are fortunate to sign the midfielder for £13 million given that Allen was so impressive in the last Euro's that he was named in the Euro 2016 Team of the Tournament after he led Wales to the semi-final before losing to champions Portugal. At 26, Allen still has a lot of years left in him as well as his experience after playing more than 91 games for Liverpool and 36 games for Swansea all in the Premier League. Allen is also a hard-working, tactically disciplined and tenacious midfielder coupled with his ability to play as a deep-lying playmaker. Allen is also often compared with the likes of Xavi and Pirlo due to his eye for key passes and creativity . The Welsh man Is good in quickly transmitting the ball from defence to attack immediately after winning back possession. His versatility will also come handy as he can play in any midfield position which is due to his low centre of gravity and quick feet.
The midfielder will suit perfectly with the playing style of Stoke, who are more direct than Liverpool and who benefit from allowing other teams possess the ball as they sit deep and attack on the counter, unlike Liverpool who are a superior team based on quality, hence expected to attack and boss the ball more often when playing with weaker teams.
Allen might not have flourished as expected in Liverpool due to various reasons but that doesn't mean the story will remain the same at Stoke . To rectify this problem, Jurgen Klopp this summer has signed the likes of Marko Grujic (1.90m) , Joel Mario (1.95m) and Ragnar Klaven (1.86m) who are tall compared with Allen's 1.68 m height. This is due to the fact that Klopp accepted publicly that Liverpool were poor in set-pieces in both defence and attack last season .
Allen poor stat are also to blame for his exit to Stoke as he only has four goals in his name for the Merseyside club in the league since his signing in 2012. According to insiders at the club, there was no need to retain the trio of Emre Can, Jordan Henderson and Allen in Liverpool as these players did not contribute much in the third half last season . Therefore, this might be the reason Klopp splashed £23 million to sign attacking midfielder Georgino Wijnaldum who scored 11 league goals for Newcastle last season.
Joe Allen still has the time to improve considering his age but this doesn't mean he won't be a success in Stoke. If given the support and confidence he has from Chris Coleman in Wales he will surely fly and blossom for Stoke like he does for Wales.
No comments:
Post a Comment