This is an accepted version of this page Joseph Michael Allen (born 14 March 1990) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Swansea City and the Wales national team.

As a first-year scholar in the youth team in the 2006–07 season, he featured as an unused first-team substitute in a 3–0 away win over Premier League side Sheffield United in the third round of the FA Cup.

He was named man of the match for his performance, which included assisting in the first goal by providing a left-footed chipped cross to Paul Anderson.

The following season, Swansea's first in the Championship, Allen struggled to get into the first team due to competition from midfielders Darren Pratley, Ferrie Bodde, Owain Tudur Jones, Jordi Gómez and Leon Britton.

On 7 October 2008, Allen joined Conference Premier club Wrexham on a one-month loan[14] and scored a goal from 25 yards on his debut for the North Wales team the same day, in a 3–1 win over York City at the Racecourse Ground.

[18] On 5 April 2009, Allen came on as a 68th-minute substitute for Mark Gower, and 20 minutes later scored his first goal for Swansea in a South Wales derby 2–2 draw away at Cardiff City.

[23] On 10 August 2012, after passing a medical at Melwood,[24] Allen signed a long-term contract with Liverpool in a transfer deal worth £15 million, following Brendan Rodgers' move to Anfield.

[25] Allen made his Premier League debut on 18 August 2012, starting in a 3–0 loss against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.

[28] Allen scored his first goal for Liverpool on 27 January 2013 in a 3–2 defeat to Oldham Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

[29] He scored his first European goal on 21 February in a 3–1 win over Zenit Saint Petersburg in the UEFA Europa League.

[38] Thirteen days later, he scored the winning penalty in a shootout against Stoke City to send Liverpool to the 2016 League Cup Final.

[40] However, Allen did play in the 2016 UEFA Europa League Final against Sevilla on 18 May 2016 in Basel, where despite initially taking the lead, Liverpool were defeated 3–1.

[58] Allen was the only member of the squad to play every Championship game in 2018–19, as Stoke failed to mount a promotion challenge finishing in 16th.

[64] Allen was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering an achilles tendon rupture on 7 March 2020 playing against Hull City.

[68] He went on to play nineteen times in the 2020–21 season, before he suffered another injury set-back in March 2021 whilst on international duty with Wales.

[73] Soon after receiving his first professional contract for Swansea City in August 2007, Allen was called up for the Wales under-21 team in a friendly match away to Sweden.

[75] He made his first start for Wales in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group G match against Switzerland at his club's Liberty Stadium in October 2011.

On 13 November 2015, in a 3–2 home loss to the Dutch, he had a penalty saved by Jasper Cillessen, but Joe Ledley scored from the rebound.

[79] At Euro 2016, Allen set-up Aaron Ramsey's goal in a 3–0 win over Russia on 20 June, which allowed Wales to top their group and advance to the knockout round of the tournament.

[86] Allen is a hard-working, tactically disciplined and tenacious—albeit not overly physical—midfielder, who is capable of aiding his team both creatively and offensively courtesy of his ability to transition the ball from defence to attack effectively after winning back possession.

A versatile and gifted player with a low centre of gravity and quick feet, he is capable of playing in several midfield roles.