In a busy day of transfer activity at the Britannia, Stoke completed the signing of Wales international Joe Allen on Monday for an undisclosed fee, reportedly of around £13 million, just hours after making Egyptian winger Ramadan Sobhi their first new addition of the summer.
The former Liverpool midfielder put pen to paper on a five-year contract with the Potters, and speaking to the club’s official website, expressed his happiness at completing the move:
“It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours for me but I am delighted to have finally been able to put pen to paper. I was really excited as soon as I heard of the Club’s interest and it wasn’t a difficult decision for me to make. I am incredibly excited about my future here at Stoke City.”
The History
Born in Carmarthen, Wales, Allen joined Swansea City’s youth set-up at the age of nine, and progressed all the way through to the first-team, making his league debut as a second half substitute in a 6-3 defeat to Blackpool in May 2007.
Over the following few seasons, the midfielder continued to gain first-team experience at the Liberty Stadium, while he also spent a brief loan spell at Wrexham in 2008, where he scored one goal in two appearances.
It was during the 2010/11 campaign where Allen really established himself as a key player for the Welsh side, making 40 appearances, scoring twice and providing five assists as Swansea secured promotion to the Premier League. In 2011/12, the midfielder continued to make giant strides, bagging four goals and as many assists as the Swans secured an 11th place finish in the top flight.
When the-then Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers took over at Liverpool in the summer of 2012, he moved swiftly to capture the services of Allen, signing the Welshman for £15 million.
Allen’s four seasons at Anfield were ultimately disappointing, though, with the Wales international never really establishing himself as a regular starter, while niggling injuries also hampered his progress. In 132 appearances for the Reds in all competitions, Allen scored seven goals and notched five assists.
After representing his country at Under 17, Under 19 and Under 21 levels, scoring three goals in 28 matches, Allen made his senior debut against Estonia in May 2009. He was a key player for Chris Coleman’s side during their run to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 this summer, starting all six matches, and was named in UEFA’s Team of the Tournament. He currently has 31 caps, but has yet to score for his country, although he has registered three assists. Allen also represented the Great Britain team in the London 2012 Olympic tournament.
The Prospects
Although Stoke boss Mark Hughes heavily favoured the 4-2-3-1 formation last season, the Welsh boss has interestingly been experimenting with a 3-5-2 system, among others, during pre-season.
In either formation, Allen looks set to start alongside Giannelli Imbula in central midfield, with the Frenchman’s physicality and athleticism appearing well suited in contrast to the Wales international’s strong passing game and tenacity in the middle of the park. The pair could certainly start together in the double-pivot in the 4-2-3-1 then, with Glenn Whelan perhaps an option in more of a typical defensive midfield role in either the 3-5-2 or 4-3-3 systems, allowing Allen and Imbula to push slightly further forward.
It’s worth noting Allen made a tackle every 18.9 minutes last term, quicker than any of Stoke’s midfielders, while the Welshman made more interceptions than any other midfielder in Euro 2016.
His addition could help provide improved protection in front of a backline that only kept 10 clean sheets last season, and nine in 2014/15, although the fitness of Ryan Shawcross, who continues to be plagued by back issues, is likely to be critical for the prospects of the Potters defence.
From a Fantasy perspective, it could be that Erik Pieters (4.5) emerges as the stand-out Stoke option should Hughes utilise the 3-5-2 formation, operating at left wing-back, while the 4-2-3-1 would likely see Marko Arnautovic, should the Austrian not be on his way to Everton, and Xherdan Shaqiri, take up the wide roles, and provide intriguing midfield choices.
Allen’s best season in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) came in 2011/12 with the Swans, where he racked up 117 points, but the majority of his four goals and four assists came when he played in a central attacking midfield role. He has since chalked up just four goals and three assists over the past four seasons, so despite being favourably priced at 5.0 in FPL this season, the Wales international offers very little Fantasy appeal due to his minimal attacking threat.
Stoke’s fixtures over the opening four Gameweeks (mid, MCI, eve, TOT) also mean their Fantasy assets are unlikely to be in high demand as we draw up our initial 15-man squads, with a favourable run from Gameweek 6 onwards (WBA, mun, SUN, hul, SWA, whm, BOU, wat, BOU) likely to be when FPL bosses look to bring in Potters players.
The signing of Allen should certainly see Stoke’s evolution under Hughes continue, with the former Liverpool man ideally suited to a more possession-based philosophy, given his ability to dictate the pace of matches.
From a Fantasy perspective, Allen’s energy and positional awareness alongside Imbula may provide improved protection for the back four, boosting the prospects of Stoke defenders, but with finishing not a strength of the Wales international, he’s not expected to be a genuine option for the cheap fifth midfield spot in FPL. Nonetheless, his tackles and interceptions suggest he could be one to consider in games that reward defensive actions such as DraftKings.
