Thursday 22 December 2016 10:22, UK
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 to drop, and thought why can't he do it higher up the pitch? His reaction for the goal against Leicester showed that.
"He can get double figures this year. I won't put too much pressure on him, but he can do it.
"Joe has nothing to prove there in fairness. He was certainly appreciated by his team-mates and fans had expressed surprise he was allowed to leave. I think everyone appreciated his time at Liverpool and perhaps that he needed to move on as well."
Hughes also reiterated his desire to conclude a permanent deal for on-loan goalkeeper Lee Grant in January, having called on Derby to reach a 'sensible conclusion' last week.
The 33-year-old joined Stoke on deadline day in the summer and has impressed in the absence of the injured Jack Butland.
"We're still hoping to do a deal for Lee Grant and there needs to be sense on both sides," Hughes said. "Hopefully I'll get an update today and it will be positive."
Hughes revealed winger Ibrahim Afellay would make his long-awaited return to the first-team squad for the trip to Anfield on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 5pm.
Afellay played for Stoke U23s last week following eight months out with a knee injury and could feature against the Reds.
Hughes did confirm he remains without defenders Phil Bardsley and Geoff Cameron, but refused to be drawn on whether Xherdan Shaqiri would return to the starting XI.
Shaqiri was left on the substitutes' bench for last Saturday's 2-2 home draw with Premier League champions Leicester.
"(Phil) Bardsley is still a couple of weeks away. When he did the injury it was going to be between five and six weeks and he's on track," he said.
"Geoff (Cameron) is still a number of weeks away. We've had a few setbacks in terms of the initial injury. He's got a schedule which is helping him and two to three weeks he should be back."
When asked about Shaqiri's potential involvement at Liverpool and the decision not to play him against Leicester, Hughes added: "He's fine. We made a decision to move people around in this period to keep things fresh.
"That's what we did on the day."
