Laudrup Braced For Allen Exit

Swansea manager Michael Laudrup has a contingency plan should Joe Allen leave for Liverpool, and says the midfielder will be allowed to decide his own future.

Laudrup made Rayo Vallecano midfielder Michu his third signing of the summer on Friday following the captures of Chico Flores and Jonathan de Guzman.

But it is the future of Allen that is attracting the most attention with speculation mounting that former boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to take the talented playmaker to Anfield.

The 22-year-old was one of the stars of Swansea's maiden Barclays Premier League campaign and secured a place in the Team GB squad for the Olympics.

He signed a new four-year contract at the Liberty Stadium last summer, but Rodgers is a keen admirer of the Wales international and reports have linked the Reds with a £15million deal.

Laudrup reiterated that Swansea have yet to receive any contact from Liverpool, but has a plan in place should Allen move on.

"You always have to be one step ahead so we have to be prepared for everything," he said.

"It's not only in this case, but with each position in the team.

"When the transfer window closes on August 31 you can breathe a sigh of relief, but you only have three or four months when people do not talk about transfers because then you look ahead to January 1. It will be the same then.

"You have to think about the present window as well as the future, which will be the winter window.

"But we obviously want to be able to have the best possible team available."

Although Laudrup would like Allen to remain in south Wales, he insists that should an offer come in then the player would be allowed to decide whether he would welcome a move.

He said: "I haven't spoken to Joe since I have taken over. I haven't spoken to any of the three Olympics players and we have not had any contact from Liverpool.

"I am in contact with the chairman every day. We agree that if there will be an approach then we will have to talk to the player.

"We cannot just answer 100% yes or no without having talked to the player.

"That's a problem because he has to concentrate on the Olympics but we will have to deal with that if and when it comes to that.

"You can force players to stay but how does that help? It doesn't work like that. It's better to find a solution that suits both parties."