Without a work permit, the future of Liverpool’s Allan Rodrigues de Souza has always been a little uncertain. As an uncapped but promising young Brazilian, he hasn’t done enough to earn a permit as an exceptional talent, and short-term loans to the Finnish and Belgian leagues aren’t going to change that.
Today, though, he got a move that might. Today, Allan has officially completed a season-long loan to Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga. Hertha finished seventh in Germany last season, and will take on Brondby later this week in a Europa League qualifying match as a result, meaning Allan could be playing in Europe this year.
Certainly it’s a big step up from Finland’s SJK or Belgium’s Sint-Truiden, where Allan spent the autumn of 2015 and spring of 2016 respectively after signing with Liverpool in a £500k deal last summer. The diminutive midfielder had previously impressed coming up through the ranks of Porto Alegre’s Internacional.
Allan made eight appearances for SJK, scoring two goals and five assists. His Sint-Truiden spell was less effective, as he played nine games but recorded no goals or assists in the Belgian Pro League.
Ein neues Gesicht zum Auftakt der Trainingswoche: Der 19-jährige Brasilianer Allan vom @LFC stellt sich vor! #hahohe pic.twitter.com/qTIBbRwnjK
— Hertha BSC (@HerthaBSC) July 26, 2016