Stockport County have chosen to recall attacking midfielder Arian Allen from his loan spell at National League side FC Halifax Town.
The Hatters had opted to send the forward to the Shay in July on a season-long spell, after his breakthrough into the first team during Dave Challinor’s final season at the club.
County Reevaluate Spell
However, Allen’s time in West Yorkshire has come to an end just one month into the National League season, with Halifax confirming that the League One side had pulled the plug on their loan agreement.
The 19-year-old played six times for John McGrath’s side during their opening stint to the season, with a majority of his minutes coming in the club’s National League Cup ties against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Derby County’s academies, scoring a goal in each of those games.
However, minutes in the league were harder to come by, with each of his appearances in the competition coming as substitute appearances, primarily acting as the backup for either Ben Tollitt or Connor Douglas.
Allen made four senior appearances for Stockport prior to his summer move to Halifax, featuring in both the EFL Trophy and the EFL Cup, including providing an assist against Harrogate Town in the former.
Future Loan Likely?
Entering the season having to battle other players for regular minutes in John McGrath’s plans at FC Halifax Town, it seems that in order for him to try and get more regular minutes, Arian Allen’s loan has been cut short by Stockport County.
While a spell at the Shay could have been more than beneficial for the 19-year-old, his limited minutes in senior matches means that it is not particularly ideal to help him develop his talents, and as unfortunate as it is, walking away was probably the right choice.
His cameos may have given some other sides food for thought now he has been pulled away from Town, and with the National League still allowing for six long-term loan spells in a club’s squad, perhaps some other sides may plot a move for Allen.
For Stockport, it is perhaps imperative that they find him a new home before it is too late, as under Jim McNulty there may not be many chances he can break through and surpass players like Jack Diamond and Harry Wood for meaningful appearances across the campaign.
