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Before pre-season started, I indicated that the last season would be the make or break year for Jordan Allen’s career. Let’s raincheck that assessment and bump it to the upcoming season. While a standout in pre-season, Jordan Allen’s 2017 impact was cut short after another long-term injury cost the New Yorker minutes. Injuries are not new to Allen as two games into his rookie season in 2014 he went down with a knee injury that kept him out for the rest of that years fixtures, and over the last two years he has been absent with multiple minor injuries.
It’s unfortunate that his involvement in plays like these were limited to only a short preseason. And despite its excellence, Allen’s role moving into the future is questionable. What role will he play for RSL in the future? He has no doubt the ability to be an incredible asset when healthy, the question is, however, when is he healthy?
With the depth on the wing and his injury proneness, It is hard to know exactly where Jordan Allen stands in the squad moving forward. He has proven his potential, but ultimately his lack of playing time has made it hard to tell exactly how far he has come, much more how much his multiple injuries have set him back moving forward.
What to expect in 2018
If RSL gets a deal done with Liverpool for Brooks Lennon, and Plata doesn’t get traded to Mexico, Jordan Allen’s role on the first team will certainly be on thin ice. The man who was once thought to be the leader of the teams youth movement finds himself behind Plata, Savarino, Lennon, and (maybe) Saucedo in terms of depth. As a result, it could be possible that Allen gets let go with his contract expiring on December 31st, or makes a temporary move to the Monarchs and tries to work his way back up in a Schuler-esque manner. Nonetheless, Jordan Allen is a proven versatile player, and if he stays with the club into 2018 he will look for opportunities to take the pitch on the wing, in the midfield and not that he’s a long-term replacement for the injured Tony Beltran, but in a wide defensive role as well.
