Joe Allen

Early life

Born in Carmarthen, Allen was raised in the Pembrokeshire town of Narberth, and is a former student of Narberth Primary School and Ysgol y Preseli. He is a fluent Welsh speaker. Allen started his career playing in local team Tenby up to the age of 10.

Swansea City

Allen was part of the Swansea City youth set-up from the age of nine. As a first-year scholar in the youth team in the 2006–07 season, he featured as an unused first-team substitute in a 3–0 away win over then Premier League side Sheffield United in the third round of the FA Cup. Two weeks later, when Allen was just 16, Swansea manager Kenny Jackett gave him his debut in the FAW Premier Cup away tie to local Welsh Premier League side Port Talbot Town. He played the first half of the match, as Swansea lost 2–1 after extra time. Allen made his league debut for Swansea as a 75th-minute substitute for Andy Robinson in a 6–3 home defeat to Blackpool on 7 May, the final day of the League One season, as Swansea missed out on a play-off position under new manager and former team captain Roberto Martínez.

Allen made a first start on 14 August 2007, in a 2–0 home win over Walsall in the first round of the League Cup. He was named man of the match for his performance, which included assisting in the first goal by providing a left-footed chipped cross to Paul Anderson. Two days later, Martínez awarded Allen his first professional contract, to keep him at Swansea until 2010. Allen started in the next round of the tournament at home to Reading, and again received the man of the match award despite a 1–0 loss. He made 14 appearances over the campaign, six in the Swans' victorious capture of the League One title.

The following season, Swansea's first in the Championship, Allen struggled to get into the first team due to competition from midfielders Darren Pratley, Ferrie Bodde, Owain Tudur Jones, Jordi Gómez and Leon Britton. On 7 October 2008, Allen joined Conference Premier club Wrexham on a one-month loan deal, and scored a goal from 25 yards on his debut for the North Wales teamthe same day, in a 3–1 win over York City at the Racecourse Ground. His loan was curtailed after only one more game, when he damaged ankle ligaments and was sidelined for a month. Allen returned from the injury in December, going back into the Swansea squad at home to Barnsley; regular midfielder Bodde had been ruled out for the remainder of the season as a result of injury. With Swansea 2–0 down and playing terribly, manager Martínez was prompted to bring Allen on from the bench; the team went on to earn a late 2–2 draw and, despite only playing 25 minutes, Allen once more received the man of the match award. On 5 April 2009, Allen came on as a 68th-minute substitute for Mark Gower, and 20 minutes later scored his first goal for Swansea in a South Wales derby 2–2 draw away at Cardiff City. At the end of the season, he signed a new three-year contract until 2012.

After frequently being injured in the 2009–10 season, Allen returned to regular first-team football at the start of the 2010–11 season. A string of impressive performances prompted manager Brendan Rodgers to play Allen in the South Wales derby in November 2010, with Allen receiving the man of the match award in the 1–0 win. He played 40 league matches and scored twice over the Championship campaign, and featured for the full 90 minutes as Swansea won promotion with a 4–2 victory over Reading in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium. However, he scored an own goal in that match.

A few days prior to the beginning of the 2011–12 Premier League, Allen signed a new four-year contract with Swansea until 2015. He played 36 out of 38 top-flight fixtures that season, scoring four goals. On 3 December 2011, he was sent off for two bookings in a 4–2 loss to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.

Liverpool

On 10 August 2012, after passing a medical at Melwood, Allen signed a long-term contract with Liverpool in a deal worth £15 million, following manager Rodgers to Anfield. He made his Premier League debut on 18 August 2012, starting in a 3–0 loss against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns. He started Liverpool's next game of the league campaign against Manchester City, where he was voted man of the match on the club's official website by fans and journalists. He went on to win the Liverpool Player of the Month award for August 2012. Allen scored his first goal for Liverpool on 27 January 2013 in a 3–2 defeat to Oldham Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup. He scored his first European goal on 21 February in a 3–1 win over Zenit Saint Petersburg in the UEFA Europa League. On 20 March, it was announced that Allen would be ruled out for the remainder of the 2012–13 season, with him requiring surgery on his left shoulder.

On 5 May 2014, Allen scored his first goal for Liverpool in the 2013–14 Premier League season with a header from a corner to give Liverpool the lead in a 3–3 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Allen played 26 times for Liverpool in 2013–14 as the side narrowly missed out on the Premier League title. In the 2014–15 season, Allen made 32 appearances as the side finished in 6th position. Allen was praised when he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 win against Manchester City, where he outplayed City star Yaya Touré. On 13 April 2015, Allen scored the second goal in a 2–0 win over Newcastle United, his first at Anfield.

Before the start of the 2015–16 season, Allen suffered an injury during one of the pre-season matches and was ruled out for a month. On 13 January 2016, he scored a last-minute equalizer in a 3–3 home draw against league leaders Arsenal. Thirteen days later, he scored the winning penalty in a shootout against Stoke City to send Liverpool to the 2016 League Cup Final. Allen was an unused substitute for Liverpool as they lost the final on penalties to Manchester City. Allen did play in the 2016 UEFA Europa League Final against Sevilla on 18 May 2016 in Basel where despite taking the lead Liverpool were beaten 3–1. At the end of the season Allen expressed his desire to play regular football.

Stoke City

On 25 July 2016, Allen joined Stoke City on a five-year contract for a reported fee of £13 million. Allen made his Premier League debut for Stoke on 13 August 2016 in a 1–1 draw away at Middlesbrough. Speaking after his move to Stoke, Allen stated that he 'had to move on' from Liverpool in order to get regular playing time. Allen scored his first goal for Stoke on 24 September 2016 in a 1–1 draw against West Bromwich Albion. Allen then scored against Manchester United on 2 October 2016 as Stoke earned their first point at Old Trafford since 1980. Allen continued his goal scoring run with both goals in a 2–0 win against Sunderland earning Stoke their first victory of the 2016–17 season. In November 2016, Allen was included in the 40-man shortlist for the UEFA Team of the Year.

Wales

Soon after receiving his first professional contract for Swansea City in August 2007, Allen was called up for the Wales under-21 team in a friendly match away to Sweden. He scored the winning goal in a 4–3 victory.

In May 2009, Allen made his debut for the senior Wales team as an 80th-minute substitute for Jack Collison during a friendly against Estonia. Wales, who won 1–0 in Llanelli, were fielding their youngest team ever, with an average age of 21. He made his first start for Wales in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group G match against Switzerland at his club's Liberty Stadium in October 2011. He was awarded the prize for the Wales' Player of the Year for 2012 in October of that year.

Allen captained Wales for the first time in the absence of Ashley Williams through injury on 4 June 2014 against the Netherlands. He played throughout the nation's successful qualification for UEFA Euro 2016. On 13 November 2015, in a 3–2 home loss to the Dutch, he had a penalty saved by Jasper Cillessen, but Joe Ledley scored from the rebound.

At UEFA Euro 2016, Allen set-up Aaron Ramsey's goal in a 3–0 win over Russia on 20 June, which allowed Wales to top their group and advance to the knock-out round of the tournament. Wales were eliminated following a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Portugal in the semi-final of the tournament on 6 July; Allen was named to the team of the tournament for his performances.

2012 Summer Olympics

Allen chose to be included in Team GB's 2012 Summer Olympics football squad. Allen was one of five Welsh players including captain Ryan Giggs, but a mistake in the official Team GB programme for their first game described Allen as English.

Style of play

Allen is a hard-working, tactically disciplined and tenacious, albeit not overly physical, midfielder, who is capable of aiding his team both creatively and offensively courtesy of his ability to transition the ball from defence to attack effectively after winning back possession. A versatile and gifted player with a low centre of gravity and quick feet, he is capable of playing in several midfield roles. Due to his vision, composure in possession, efficient passing, and ability to dictate the tempo of his team's play in midfield as a playmaker, Allen has been described as the "Welsh Xavi" and as the "Welsh Pirlo" by former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

Personal life

Allen is married to Lacey, and they have a son. Inspired by her involvement in animal welfare, he adopts hens to save them when they can no longer lay eggs. Allen's brother, Harry, lost his hearing when he was three-years-old due to meningitis and Joe became ambassador for Action on Hearing Loss Cymru in March 2015. Harry also played football and became captain of the Welsh deaf futsal team.

Club

International

International goals

Honours

Swansea City

Individual