‘Allen has nothing to prove’

Mark Hughes insists Joe Allen has nothing to prove as the midfielder prepares to make his first return to Liverpool since his summer switch to Stoke.

The Wales international struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular at Liverpool following the arrival of Jurgen Klopp as manager last October and was allowed to join the Potters in a £13m deal in July. 

Allen, who helped Wales reach the semi-finals of Euro 2016 in the summer, has since flourished in a new attacking midfield role under Hughes, scoring five goals in 18 matches for Stoke. 

“His time at Liverpool was a frustration for him and it was only by virtue of him not playing week in week out that we could get him here,” the Stoke manager said. 

“We were still surprised after Euro 2016 that Liverpool were prepared to sell – but I think they had other irons in the fire. 

“They were happy to do the deal and we were happy to have Joe, who has been outstanding. His goal scoring has been added to a game that was already very strong.

“We moved him to a more attacking position and he hasn’t had too many games there. I looked at it in training, the anticipation of where the ball is going …

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