Liverpool Transfer News: Reds Fans Shouldn't Care About Price Paid for Joe Allen

Liverpool just paid £15 million to acquire the services of former Swansea City midfield Joe Allen, and some fans aren't exactly elated at the funds that the Reds had to fork over.

Of course, £15 million is a lot of money for a player that hasn't yet proved himself to be one of the world's best, but the Reds didn't terribly overpay for the 22-year-old Welshman. 

Even if they did, fans should not give the price a second thought.

It is one thing to frown upon an acquisition because of his skills. It is another to say "I would have liked the pickup if the price wasn't so high."

There is no reason for Reds fans to care about what John W. Henry and the rest of Fenway Sports Group paid for Allen. It is not their money, and they stand nothing to lose from the investment.

One could make the argument that the money could be funneled into other endeavors, but the Fenway Sports Group has plenty of finances to go around.

Allen isn't the best player in the world, but for £15 million, he doesn't have to be. Last season, he finished fourth in the Premier League in pass success percentage with a mark of 91.2. That is higher than Samir Nasri, Yaya Toure, Rafael van der Vaart and Ashley Cole, among others, and just over two percentage points off the league lead (via whoscored.com).

His average rating last season was an impressive 7.11. That number is good for 25th in the league, and better than every player Liverpool had last season outside of Luis Suarez.

Remember that he is only 22 years old. He was named the Man of the Match three times last season on a Swansea team that simply wasn't very good.

With Liverpool, Allen will be playing with the likes of Suarez, Lucas Leiva, Andy Carroll, Charlie Adam and other quality pieces. 

Allen could be the successor the Steven Gerrard at the midfield position for the Reds. He is capable of playing multiple midfield positions, and his versatility will be a blessing for the Reds in the future.

When a team acquires a player of Allen's caliber and age, the player's price is based on his production ceiling maybe even more so than his current abilities.

Liverpool coach Brendan Rogers had this to say about the signing (via The Guardian):

He's incredible on the ball, his intelligence for a 22-year-old is frightening, his game understanding is very, very good and he's in love with the football. He loves the ball. I think he'll fit in really well with all the other clever players we already have here. I'm excited about the prospect of Allen fitting in with our front four, because I think even at this early stage, their combination has been excellent.

Keep that in mind if you aren't thrilled about this acquisition.