West Ham are reportedly in the race to sign Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen.
Liverpool’s Joe Allen
According to the Daily Star, West Ham United are challenging West Bromwich Albion and Celtic in the race to sign Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen.
The Hammers have made two additions to their first-team squad this summer by signing Havard Nordtveit and Sofiane Feghouli on Bosman deals from Borussia Monchengladbach and Valencia respectively.
With two top signings secured and not a penny spent, manager Slaven Bilic may now look to splash some cash on new additions – but a move for Allen is a surprise link.
The Daily Star claim that the Hammers are in the race to sign Allen this summer, after the Welshman slipped down the pecking order at Anfield under Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
It’s now believed that Allen could leave Merseyside this summer for first-team football elsewhere, and his performances for Wales at Euro 2016 appear to have triggered major interest in his signature.
As talented as Allen is, a move to West Ham would be a strange one. Adding British talent should be a priority for West Ham, and Allen fits the bill, but West Ham are already more than well-stocked in the middle of the park.
New signing Nordtveit offers a strong, physical presence in midfield, but even he isn’t guaranteed a starting role as Cheikhou Kouyate and Mark Noble impressed so much under Bilic last season.
Factor in that Pedro Obiang, a player who only signed for West Ham from Sampdoria last summer, is still in the ranks and pushing for a place in the side, and it becomes clear that West Ham already have four central midfielders competing – even without teenager Reece Oxford.
Allen would essentially serve a similar role to Noble in the West Ham side, and it’s hard to imagine that he would supplant the Hammers captain in Bilic’s starting line-up, meaning he would have to start as a second or third choice player at the Olympic Stadium – essentially the same position he’s in at Liverpool.
At £10m, Allen could be a smart signing for a Premier League team, but West Ham have other areas that need strengthening this summer, and spending such a fee on yet another central midfielder seems a massive luxury right now.
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