The 21-year-old began the first three league games of the season on the bench but has started the last three since breaking into the first-team against Arsenal earlier this month. Despite being on the end of a 4-1 defeat against Chelsea last weekend Allen was the stand-out performer for the Welsh club. And Rodgers, who has previously worked as Chelsea youth coach, feels the Wales international has the ability and attitude to go on and play for a club like the Blues and succeed at the very top. "I always look at players, my own players and others, who have not experienced life at the top level and I wonder if any of them could play for a club like Chelsea," Rodgers told the South Wales Evening Post. "And certainly, I looked at Joe last Saturday and felt he was someone who could play at that level. "There's no question about it for me - he has got those qualities with the ball that you need. His performance at Chelsea was excellent. "Some players can go and play against the bigger teams and they will be nervous or they will hold back. For some the whole day will be a blur because of the size of the game. "But for Joe it wasn't like that. You could see he loved being there - he felt comfortable on the ball and technically he was exceptional in the game. He played as if he was playing against any other team. "He is the type who has been born with a gift and, whether he was playing in front of five people or 500,000, his mentality would be the same."
