Joe Allen
Joe Allen is starting to prove himself as a player for Liverpool, according to John Aldridge.

John Aldridge has argued that Joe Allen is starting to justify his place at Liverpool with the Wales international recovering from a poor performance against Everton to prove himself as the club face a growing injury list.

Allen has produced mixed performances for the Reds since making the move to Merseyside from Swansea with Brendan Rodgers in the summer of 2012. The 23 year old has suffered from injury woes in the current campaign and his appearances have been limited to just seven so far.

And after a particularly disappointing showing against Everton, with Liverpool saving a point in the final minutes against their local rivals, Rodgers has kept faith in the Wales international and Aldridge believes that such faith is now beginning to bare fruit.

"I feared for Joe Allen after what happened in the derby at Goodison but he has bounced back from that brilliantly," he told the Liverpool Echo. "Allen got his chance against Norwich in midweek and deservedly kept his place in midfield for the win over West Ham.

"He produced a very solid performance. He used the ball really well.

"He's a confidence player - you can see that in games. When he makes a few mistakes his head goes down a bit. But when things are going well for him he's really positive and looks to push the team forward.

"He's an established international with a lot of experience and is starting to show what a good player he is."

Rodgers relied heavily on Allen during his time at Swansea to produce and the manager has made it clear that he wants him to be just as reliable at Liverpool. Despite a limited budget in his first summer in charge Rodgers forked out £15m for Allen's signature and has constantly argued down his critics.

But the coming weeks will be a big chance for the midfielder to prove himself as Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson take to the sidelines with injuries. Allen and Lucas Leiva are set to take centre stage for the Reds and both will get the opportunity to stake a claim on a starting spot.