Joe Allen Not Worried About Liverpool Future

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has said that with the season winding down and a major European final on the horizon, right now isn’t the time to be talking about new deals and contract extensions. For Joe Allen, who has a year left on his current deal, this has led to some speculation about the player’s future.

Allen, though, says he isn’t worried, and that despite speculation about whether he might be moving on in a few weeks, he doesn’t believe that just because he isn’t talking to the club about a new deal right now that he won’t be signing on once the season ends. All of which does seem rather in line with what his manager is saying.

“I can’t say there have been any changes,” Allen told the Liverpool Echo today when the 26-year-old Welsh midfielder was asked about his contract situation. “The manager has said that between now and the end of the season it’s not the right time to talk about those things, [and] I think that works out well for everyone.”

Though Allen remains on the fringes of the first team, he has grown in importance in recent months under Klopp, and is quickly becoming a player the manager counts on. Maybe not to start week in and week out, but when a change is needed or a player needs rest, Allen seems to have become the first player called on to fill in.

His feisty, uptempo but technical approach to football—passionate but thoughtful as the manager might put it—seems to have won over the German, and on Sunday he implored the team to play “Joe Allen football” ahead of the match against Watford. The resulting match was perhaps a little dull, but Allen did respond with a goal.

“It was a nice compliment from the manager,” noted Allen. “It’s always a boost when you hear things like that. It was a good day and I was just pleased to help the team win. My target is always to develop and to improve as a player, and in the past few months I’ve had more game time and that’s been great.”