Swansea Chairman Confirms Joe Allen Interest

Swansea City chairman Huw Jenkins today confirmed what many had assumed for some time. Namely that the Welsh club are interested in bringing midfielder Joe Allen back to the Liberty Stadium this summer, and that as soon as the Euros are over the Welsh club will begin to explore the possibility.

“I think it’s been well documented that Joe is going to look at his future when he’s finished at Euro 2016,” said the Swansea chairman when asked about a potential move for Allen earlier today. “Naturally we’re interested in good players like Joe who may be available this summer given he has a year left on his contract.”

Allen had previously been linked with a move to reunited with former manager Brendan Rodgers at Celtic in Scotland, though the player’s agent was quick to shoot down the possibility of such a move, bluntly stating that it was unlikely Celtic could afford either his wages or the transfer fee he’d likely fetch.

Celtic’s record transfer fee is £6M, spent in both 2000 and 2001 on Chris Sutton and John Hartson respectively. The most they’ve paid for a player in the past decade was £4.4M for Scott Brown in 2007. The average wage of first team players at the club is £17k per week, and their highest paid player makes £25k.

To land Allen, they would likely have to at least double both. Certainly, then, a move within the Premier League would likely make the most sense, and a return to Swansea for the 26-year-old could be an interesting option should Liverpool sign another midfielder this summer and not seek to extend his current deal.

“Obviously we will keep tabs on his situation and see what happens later in the summer,” added Jenkins, whose club had a loan offer for Allen rejected in January.