Hamann: Best Has Yet To Come From Joe Allen

Ex-Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann believes the best is yet to come from Joe Allen for both club and country.

Allen was one of Brendan Rodgers' first signings when he took over at Anfield, taking the 23-year-old from his former club Swansea City in a £15m deal.

He impressed in the Liverpool midfield but the Wales star's season was curtailed by a shoulder injury.

"It's a big step up when you go from Swansea to Liverpool but he had a fantastic start," Hamann said.

"He was absolutely outstanding for the first few months then he missed a couple of games, Lucas [Leiva] has come back in the team who missed the early parts of the season through injury and then he [Allen] found it hard to get back into the team.

"But I think for the first year he's done ever so well and you've got to give him time, he's only young.

"He showed his potential, if anything he'll only get better and I think there's a lot to look forward to."

Allen has been capped 13 times by Wales and also played five times for the Great Britain side that reached the quarter-finals of the men's football tournament at the 2012 Olympics.

The Carmarthenshire native has played primarily in a holding midfield role for Liverpool, where he could break up opposition play before using his range of passing to launch Liverpool forward.

But Hamann, who was capped 59 times by Germany, believes that as Allen develops he will be able to fill other roles.

"If he adds skills to his game then I think he can play in various positions in the centre of midfield because he's a clever player, he's a very good passer of the ball, he spots danger and he's a team player," Hamann added.

"Now he needs to crack on and take his game to the next level, not only for Liverpool but also for Wales.

"He's at a top club now, he will have gained a lot of experience from that and I hope he can put that to good use for his club and country.

"I think you will see a lot more from him in the future because he is a terrific player."