Swansea City has rejected a bid from Liverpool for talented midfielder Joe Allen, says BBC Sport. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers offered around £10m plus Jonjo Shelvey on loan, but the offer was rejected by Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins.

Swansea’s valuation for Joe Allen is £15m. However, the Welsh club has a clause in the compensation agreement for manager Brendan Rodgers, when he moved from Swansea to Liverpool. In the clause, it states that Liverpool cannot open bidding for a Swansea player for twelve months unless another club places a bid first, or Liverpool would make a significant offer that would trigger the release clause.

While Swansea waits for Liverpool to come back with an improved offer, Joe Allen continues his preparation for Team GB — who are scheduled to play their first match in the Olympics tomorrow. As a Swansea City supporter, I know that the likelihood of Joe Allen leaving the club this summer is almost a certainty unless Liverpool loses interest or isn’t able to justify the £15m expense. The reality is that Swansea can’t afford to pass up an offer of £15m for a homegrown player that came up through their ranks. If anything, selling Joe Allen for £15m would fill Swansea fans with pride, even if the sting still hurts. I’d obviously like to see him stay.

But if Liverpool wants him, they need to pay. Swansea should not let Liverpool walk all over them. Not only has Swansea lost their manager to Liverpool this summer, as well as potentially losing Joe Allen, but we also lost Gylfi Sigurdsson who agreed terms to stay at Swansea but then didn’t take his medical because Rodgers left the club. Sigurdsson, of course, went on to sign for Tottenham, who offered more money than Liverpool.

In addition to that, former Swansea City striker Fabio Borini joined Liverpool this summer from Roma. The incredibly gifted Italian striker was a large reason why Swansea got promoted from the nPower Championship. Seeing Borini link up with Brendan Rodgers again, this time at Liverpool, leaves a bittersweet taste in my mouth. But I completely understand Borini’s desire to move to a bigger club.

The reality is that Swansea made Joe Allen. While Swansea didn’t make Brendan Rodgers, Fabio Borini and Gylfi Sigurdsson, all three of them made a massive impression at the Welsh club, which helped them move on to bigger and greater things.

Liverpool’s pursuit of Joe Allen may not be the last one. I wouldn’t be surprised if Liverpool doesn’t also attempt to sign Scott Sinclair or Ashley Williams (especially if Martin Skrtel leaves Liverpool). So, it’s important that Swansea sets the tone by continuing to reject low bids for Allen and any other Swansea players, whether the bids are from Liverpool or other clubs.

If Swansea do lose Joe Allen, Swansea has two new attacking midfielder signings Jonathan de Guzman and Michu to step into Allen’s boots. After collecting several million pounds from Liverpool to let Brendan Rodgers join the Reds, I’m hoping that if Liverpool do sign more Swansea players, that the Welsh club will collect many more millions to help finance the club moving forward.

All of this transfer speculation makes me understand how supporters of smaller clubs feel. For example, over the years Fulham has lost many of their up-and-coming players to larger clubs. Star players such as Edwin van der Sar and Louis Saha (in his prime), as well as strong transfer rumors that Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele could be leaving this summer. It’s not fair, but it’s a reality of being a mid-table Premier League side dwarfed by the Sky Six.

UPDATE: A Swansea City spokesperson has released an official statement regarding the Joe Allen transfer speculation:

“Swansea City can confirm that Liverpool have expressed an interest in Joe Allen, despite a written agreement with Liverpool not to approach any players within the 12-month period of former manager Brendan Rodgers leaving for Anfield.

“There has also been interest from other clubs regarding his possible availability and the club is due to speak to Joe, as originally planned, about the situation when he returns from GB duty.

“The club is not prepared to release any details on whether any formal bids have been made at this stage or details of Joe’s contract, which are private and confidential. The club is extremely disappointed that speculation regarding certain aspects of his contract have been released to the media by parties outside the club.

“Fortunately the club is in a financial position where it does not need to sell any of its players and will continue to work in the best interests of its supporters, who are our priority, and the club to provide new manager Michael Laudrup with the best opportunity to be successful in the forthcoming Premier League campaign.”