Stoke City midfielder Joe Allen is reportedly no longer on the radar of West Ham United, according to the Daily Star.

The Hammers have supposedly ended their interest in the Wales international after being heavily linked with a move earlier this month.

Allen, who joined the Potters for a fee of £13m in 2016 from Liverpool, has experienced a mixed spell at the bet365 Stadium.

Whilst the midfielder initially made a positive impression for Stoke, he was unable to prevent the club from suffering relegation to the Championship in 2018.

Having played 199 games at Premier League level during his career, Allen would have been determined to take the second-tier by storm last season.

However, despite starting every league game for Stoke, the midfielder only managed to illustrate glimpses of his undoubted quality as his side slumped to a 16th place finish in the Championship.

Allen's issue with inconsistency has limited the impact that he has been able to make this season as he has only provided three goal contributions in 25 appearances.

Although West Ham may no longer be in the running for the midfielder's signature, it will be intriguing to see whether Stoke opt to sell him if they receive an official bid from another club between now and the end of January.

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The Verdict

With the Hammers reportedly set to steer clear of the 29-year-old, Stoke should be relatively happy with this news as they cannot afford to let another midfielder leave the club.

Having already sanctioned the departures of Badou Ndiaye, Peter Etebo and Ryan Woods this month, Potters manager Michael O'Neill ought to consider keeping Allen as he is desperately short of options in the former Liverpool man's position.

Providing that the midfielder is able to step up to the mark during the remainder of the season, there is no reason why he cannot help his side retain their second-tier status for another year.