Rodgers Confirms Interest In £16m Midfielder

With the summer transfer window in full swing, Football Talk will be keeping you up-to-date with all the latest transfer news throughout the summer. Today, Liverpool confirm their interest in Joe Allen.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed his interest in bringing Swansea midfielder Joe Allen to Anfield this summer, but it may take a fee in the region of £16m to land him.

Allen was one of Swansea’s most consistent performers during Rodgers time at the Liberty Stadium and after taking over the reigns at Anfield, the midfielder was quickly linked with a move to Merseyside, according to ESPN.

New Swansea manager Michael Laudrup is desperate to keep hold of Allen but his former boss has opened the door for a move to Liverpool after revealing his admiration for the player.

“I have a great relationship with Swansea, but if there is a market for any of the players I would like to be in that market,” Rodgers said.

“He [Allen] is a very talented player, which everyone knows, but there is nothing more at the moment. When players come to a club such as Liverpool, it’s never straightforward.

“As a manager you want them in sooner rather than later, but the main thing is to get them in before the beginning of the season. If we do that, our job will be done.”

Rodgers is quoted as saying by ESPN

However, the Daily Mail suggest it would take a fee similar to the £16m paid to Sunderland for Jordan Henderson to prize the 22-year-old away from Swansea.

An apparent ‘source’ told the newspaper:

 “Brendan is a huge fan of Joe, and has seen at first hand just how magnificently he has performed for Swansea over the past couple of seasons.

“Joe was a key player in helping them win promotion from the Championship, and was outstanding again in the Premier League last term.

“He has established himself as one of the top flight’s outstanding young talents, and he is very happy at Swansea.

“The fact is they want him to remain at the Liberty, but they are also well aware that Liverpool paid £16m to sign Jordan Henderson – another promising young midfielder – last summer.

“Joe has to be put in the same price bracket as that.”

If the Daily Mail are accurate, it looks like it’s going to take a sizable offer to make the Swans part company with Allen. But would the Liverpool board sanction spending £16m on another English youngster who’s not yet established himself at the very top of the game? Henderson has hardly been a rousing success, so unless they can persuade Swansea to lower their expectations it’s going to be difficult to see Allen moving to Anfield.

Read more Liverpool transfer news

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