It wouldn’t hurt” – Swansea City told to take Joe Allen action on one condition This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… Swansea City have been told to consider a potential contract extension for midfield veteran Joe Allen, who will see his current deal expire at the end of the 2024/25 Championship campaign. Allen’s former contract had been due to conclude this summer before Swansea sought to negotiate a fresh one-year extension to keep the 34-year-old in SA1 for the duration of the season. Despite inheriting and striving to build a youthful and energised squad, head coach Luke Williams has not lost sight of the value in experience, and decided to keep defensive stalwart Kyle Naughton on for another year as well Allen, who earned 72 caps for the Welsh national team prior to retiring from international football last year, will celebrate his 35th birthday before his current contract runs down. The midfielder has endured harsh luck with injuries since returning to Swansea from Championship rivals Stoke City two years ago and started on just six occasions in the previous campaign. Meanwhile, the arrival of Portuguese midfielder Goncalo Franco, who impressed in Sunday afternoon’s heated 1-1 South Wales Derby showdown with Cardiff City, will only increase the difficulty for Allen to gain regular opportunities at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Joe Allen should be considered for Swansea City extension on one condition In spite of Allen’s limited influence on the pitch across the gruelling slog of a 46-game Championship season, his impact away from it is not lost on Football League World’s resident Jack Army fan pundit James Fleming, who would be eager to see the veteran’s terms extended even further – providing he can maintain fitness and Swansea are able to strike the right financial deal. “I think the key thing with Joe Allen is if he can remain fit or not,” James explained to Football League World. “Obviously everyone here loves him, he’s a servant to this football club and he’s Swansea through and through, we couldn’t ask for anything more from him. “But at 35 years old at the end of the season, it’s one of them ones where he is getting to that point where his career is coming to an end. “But I think if the wages are right and he can stay relatively fit throughout this season, it wouldn’t hurt at all to give him an extra one year on his contract. “He’s one of those players who’s good to have just for the dressing room if not anything else, someone who knows what it means to be Swansea through and through and what it means to the fans when we win games and when we lose games, you need players like that. “Also, what we are building is a very young squad, albeit a very talented squad, but we need experienced heads in the dressing room to keep them [young players] calm and collected.” Swansea City may need Joe Allen’s experience in Luke Williams’ youthful-looking squad James raises an interesting point regarding the impact Allen can have upon a young squad. Operating on a tight budget and under the tutelage of yet another progressive-minded head coach with an intricate and sustainable philosophy has encouraged Swansea to utilise left-field foreign markets with the vision of recruiting at a low cost and, it will be hoped, selling high in the years to come. Their business this summer has epitomised exactly that and the early signs suggest such a strategy may well pay dividends, with Franco and Ji-Sung Eom both making positive initial impressions following Ronald Pereira’s strong start to life after his January arrival, too. Swansea City can’t afford to lose Harry Darling on a free transfer like they did with Ryan Manning last summer But, as James rightly makes reference to, Swansea’s younger, less experienced operators will need to be in the presence of well-versed senior leadership and expertise, which Allen has in abundance. The former Liverpool and Stoke City midfielder has accumulated more than 500 senior appearances, many of which came in the Premier League. He knows what it takes to maintain a rich connection with supporters and excel at the highest level, and Swansea must at least consider that at the end of the season.

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