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FLW's Coventry Fan Pundit Chris speaks on the future of Jamie Allen.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Jamie Allen has played a pivotal role throughout the modern rise of Coventry City, with the club now a regular in the promotion-chasing pack in the Sky Bet Championship.

The 30-year-old joined the Sky Blues in 2019, making the move from Burton Albion. His importance would continue to grow as Coventry earned promotion from League One and began to settle down in the Championship.

As things stand, he is set to leave the club at the end of the current term, with his contract to expire next summer.

The Sky Blues are flying under Frank Lampard, with their impressive start firing them to the top of the Championship, though Allen's influence has begun to fade, with the experienced midfielder operating as an option from the bench during the season's early days.

Football League World's Coventry Fan Pundit Chris Deez has given his thoughts on Allen's future - suggesting that he still has a lot to offer at Championship level.

"Workhorse of a player" - Jamie Allen's uncertain future

"Jamie Allen has been such an important player since his arrival," said Chris when asked whether this could be his final year as a Coventry player.

"He was instrumental in the rise under Mark Robins, and he still puts in a great shift in now. He is a workhorse of a player. He doesn't feature all too much these days, but when he does, he more than puts in a shift."

Allen featured regularly enough under Lampard during the second half of last season, which ended in a play-off semi-final defeat to eventual promotion winners Sunderland. This led to an extension of one more year on his Coventry deal, something that supporters were more than happy about.

"He is only 30, so he has got a good few years left in him, and he is more than capable at Championship level," added Chris, who was keen to suggest that Allen's future will depend on the result of the Sky Blues' season.

"His future will come down to what happens with Coventry. If we go up, I would love to keep him around and see him feature here and there in the Premier League. But, as much as we love him, it is quite clear that he may not be up to Premier League standard.

"We have seen it hundreds of times with players who have been excellent in the Championship, but just haven't been able to hack it in the Premier League."

While Allen's ceiling may not reach the top-flight, Chris was keen to outline how thankful Coventry fans are for his services: "If we don't get promoted, it would be disappointing after our amazing start. But, if we don't, give him another year or two.

"If he were to leave at the end of the season, a lot of Coventry fans would be extremely sad to see him go, but we would wish him really well," Chris concluded.

Jamie Allen is a cult hero for Coventry fans

The midfielder may have registered 180 minutes on the pitch for the Sky Blues this season, but his record during his time at the club speaks for itself.

The 30-year-old has made 184 appearances in a Sky Blue shirt since his arrival in 2019, and played an integral role as the club settled back down in the second tier after years of turmoil.

Allen joined the club ahead of their promotion campaign in 2019/20, with Coventry playing their football at Birmingham City's St Andrew's stadium after failing to reach an agreement to continue playing at what was then known as the Ricoh Arena.

Upon their return to the Championship, the Sky Blues finished 16th in the behind-closed-doors season of 2020/21, before settling into 12th as supporters were welcomed back and the club returned to the renamed CBS Arena. And it would be this year that Allen's influence began to grow, and grow.

Making 38 second-tier appearances, Allen scored one, and assisted twice as Coventry continued to stabilise, before he went on to score six from midfield as the Sky Blues reached the play-offs in 2023.

While they would suffer heartbreak on penalties against Luton Town at Wembley, the club were finally beginning to be taken seriously again, with Robins' side making another trip to Wembley the following year, where they faced Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final.

Joe Taylor playing for Luton against Coventry

Allen is not registering the minutes he once was. However, the club today is a totally different one when compared to the one he joined, and that can partly be put down to the likes of Allen, who worked tirelessly under Robins to get the club back in a respectable position.

A hardworking player and a fantastic individual to have around, Sky Blues supporters will always want him to stick around. But if the end of the current season marks the end of his Coventry career, there will be no complaints about his time at the club.