Report: Stoke hope West Ham, Newcastle target Joe Allen will stay

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Joe Allen is reportedly being pursued by a number of clubs, including West Ham United and Newcastle United.

According to a report from Stoke on Trent Live, Stoke City are hopeful that they will be able to convince Joe Allen to stay at the bet365 Stadium next season despite their relegation to the Championship and the interest in him from some of their Premier League rivals.

The Sun reported earlier this month that the likes of West Ham and Newcastle are keen on signing the midfielder during the summer after the Potters’ defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend saw Paul Lambert’s men become the first team to be relegated from the top flight.

The report from The Sun suggested that despite their relegation, Stoke had no plans to sell £20 million-rated Allen on the cheap, and now Stoke on Trent Live is reporting that the Potters hierarchy are actually hopeful that the Welshman will decide to stay and inspire their promotion bid.

While Stoke may be hopeful of keeping Allen, it would hardly be a surprise if the former Liverpool man was seriously contemplating a move, or holding fire on any concrete decision if he does have some desire to stay put.

From the outside it appears that, at 28, Allen is reaching an age where he may be concerned about how many more years he may get to play at the highest level. And while he may perhaps be willing to sacrifice one of those seasons to help get Stoke promoted again if he wants to ideally stay, he may be left with plenty of thinking to do if he feels that they are not building a squad capable of bouncing straight back up.

And of course, it would be a surprise if moves to the likes of Newcastle or West Ham were not tempting if either of the two clubs came calling with a substantial bid during the coming months.