Joe Allen: 'Talks over Liverpool future on hold'

Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen has insisted that he is not thinking about his future at the club until after the European Championships this summer.

The 26-year-old made just eight Premier League starts last season and has only one year remaining on his contract, with former club Swansea City thought to be interested in bringing the Wales international back to the Liberty Stadium.

Speculation linked him with a move away from Anfield in January too, but he has now put any talk over his future on hold while he prepares for Euro 2016 - Wales's first major international tournament for 58 years.

"There was a conversation with the club [in January] in terms of what the future did hold for me, if I would feature more or if I would feature in the plans moving forward. They made it clear at that stage I wouldn't be moving anywhere. I knew where I stood, and it was good to have that conversation and know that I had the second half of the season to look forward to with Liverpool," Allen told reporters.

"As soon as the season finished with Liverpool I said to myself, 'I don't want to have any distractions and I am fully focussed and engaged on purely all things Wales'. That's where I am at the moment. We have had an intense season and I'm sure there will be a week or two after the Euros before any discussions are had. I think [my future] hinges on the pre-season plans and what exactly the club are hoping to do, everything comes into that.

"The acquisitions and who they are going to get in, and until all that happens then it is difficult to answer that question. As a footballer you want to play every minute of every game. When you don't it can be disappointing, that's natural for anyone, that's not specific to me. It's how you react. You have to make sure you don't let it affect you to a point that when you do get your chances you're not up to it. That's been a challenge for me this year, but I've enjoyed that challenge."

Allen failed to make a single league start for Liverpool until December during the 2015-16 campaign.