This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Stoke City will allow midfielder Joe Allen to leave the club this summer, a report from The Daily Telegraph has claimed.
Allen has scored 20 goals in 177 appearances in all competitions since joining the Potters from Liverpool back in the summer of 2016.
The midfielder still has a year remaining on his contract at The Bet365 Stadium, but it now seems as though he could be on the move sooner rather than later regardless.
According to this latest update, Stoke are willing to let Allen leave the club at the end of this season - a campaign that has seen the 31-year-old hampered by injuries - if the right offer comes in.
But have Stoke made the right decision with that stance over the future of the Welsh international?
We put that question to some of our Football League World writers, and here, is a look at what they had to say on the issue.
Ned Holmes
Yes, I think this is the right time to part ways with Joe Allen.
There's no denying he's been a fantastic servant to the club but now seems the right time to offload him.
The 31-year-old has not been able to exert the sort of influence we've seen in previous seasons and with a year left on his contract, looking to cash in now makes a lot of sense.
Whether there will be much of a market for him remains to be seen.
George Harbey
This is probably for the best to be honest.
In fairness to Allen, he’s been dealt such a bad hand in terms of injuries and they just aren’t his fault whatsoever.
But from a financial perspective, Allen is one of their highest-earning players and at 31, he doesn’t represent a long-term option.
He doesn’t have much longer left in his career, so getting him off the wage bill could be beneficial.
Stoke have had problems with FFP in recent years, and with so many players out of contract at the end of next season, they need to cash in for a fee this summer. It makes sense.
Phil Spencer
There's no doubt that Stoke City would want to keep the player if they could, but this is likely to be about finances.
Joe Allen will be on a fairly hefty wage packet after joining the club from Liverpool during their Premier League years and that sort of salary is just untenable for a club in the Championship.
Allen is a top player, but if the club are to be able to build in a sustainable way it seems that the Welsh midfielder will be sacrificed in order to allow them to do so.
He'll be a big miss, but this is about the long-term future of the club.
