Stoke sign Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen on five-year deal

Stoke City have signed Wales midfielder Joe Allen from Liverpool for a £13 million fee.

And the 26-year-old has signed a five-year contract, ending a four-year spell at Anfield to become Stoke’s second arrival of the summer following Ramadan Sobhi’s move on Monday.

Allen has struggled for playing time under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, having been restricted to mainly Europa League appearances last season.

But he was one of the stars of the Wales squad which reached the semifinals at Euro 2016 earlier this summer.

BREAKING | Stoke City are delighted to announce the signing of Joe Allen from @LFC on a 5-year deal #SCFC pic.twitter.com/3XqQ8EFyyk

— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) July 25, 2016

Allen told the club’s official website: “It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours for me, but I am delighted to have finally been able to put pen to paper.

“I was really excited as soon as I heard of the club’s interest and it wasn’t a difficult decision for me to make. I am incredibly excited about my future here at Stoke City.”

Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes said: “Joe is a player that Mark Hughes has admired for a considerable amount of time.

“Therefore when we became aware of the possibility of bringing him to the club it was something that we were determined to do.”

Allen followed Brendan Rodgers from Swansea to Liverpool in 2012 but found his first-team chances limited after Rodgers was replaced by Jurgen Klopp in October.

Injuries contributed to a total of just eight Premier League starts last season, and Allen had just one year to run on his deal.

He will wear the No 4 shirt at Stoke.