Official: Allan Rodrigues de Souza Completes Atletico Mineiro Transfer

Allan Rodrigues de Souza is now 22 years of age and, until today, had been on Liverpool’s books for just short of five years, but few Liverpool fans will have ever seen the promising young Brazilian midfielder play. Today, he is officially a Liverpool player no more.

After a series of European loans failed to see him develop to the point he could have hoped to secure an English work permit, he headed back to Brazil on loan last summer with an eye towards returning permanently. He has now done so by joining Atletico Mineiro.

Previous reports had the Brazilian Seire A club ready to pay £2.5M and leave Liverpool with a portion of the player’s future playing rights, but in the end the deal that has been done involves a more straightforward £3.2M fee with a standard 10% sell-on clause.

Allan joined in the summer of 2015 from Porto Alegre’s Internacional in a £500k deal. What followed were loans to Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho in Finland, Sint-Truiden in Belgium, Hertha Berlin in Germany, Apollon Limassol in Cyprus, and Eitracht Frankfurt back in Germany.

The struggle was twofold: first Allan would have to impress enough to catch the eye of a mid-table club in a top league and develop to the point he could play regularly for them, and then he would have to go to a mid-table club in a top league and actually do that.

Without that—or without regular appearances for the Brazilian national team—there would be no chance of a work permit. For a young player leaving home, though, it was a difficult and draining proposition, and in the end his request to return home was understandable.

He did that by joining Fluminense on loan last summer, and now he will stay in Brazil with Atletico. Hopefully, following his failed European adventure, he can get his career back on track and remain at his new home for longer than six months.