Joe Allen: Celtic told they must spend big to sign Liverpool midfielder

Scottish champions Celtic will have to spend big if they want to sign Joe Allen from Liverpool, the player's agent has said.

Allen, 26, admitted last week that his future at Anfield was up in the air after a league campaign in which he only made 19 appearances.

The Wales international has been linked with a move to Celtic Park following the unveiling of Brendan Rodgers as the Scottish giants' new manager.

Rodgers worked with Allen at Swansea City and famously described him as the "Welsh Xavi" when he signed him for Liverpool in 2012.

Allen's agent Glenn Corcoran told the Daily Record that Celtic will have to splash out a sizeable transfer fee to reunite the player with Rodgers.

The £45,000-per-week salary he earns at Anfield is also bound to complicate any potential move – Rodgers reportedly earns the same amount in a 12-month rolling contract with Celtic worth £2.3m ($3.4m).

'Wages a massive issue'

"This is the first I have heard of this. Joe has a year left on his contract at Liverpool and nobody has spoken to us about extending that," Corcoran said.

"The club have not spoken to us about selling him either. I haven't given any thought whatsoever to it with regards to Celtic or any club."

He added: "If Liverpool were willing to sell – and that is a big 'if' because I've not had that conversation with the club – they would ask for too much money for him.

"I don't know if Celtic at this moment would be willing to spend that sort of money and the wages would also be a massive issue."

Speaking on the sidelines of a Wales training camp in Portugal, Allen said he will return to Liverpool at the end of the European Championships and listen to the club's transfer plans before making a decision on whether to move elsewhere.

"[My future] hinges on the pre-season plans and what exactly the club are hoping to do, everything comes into that," Allen was quoted as saying by the Guardian on 26 May.

"The acquisitions and who they are going to get in. Until all that happens it is difficult to answer that question."