Arbroath
Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902.
It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen.
The ...
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
and Hibernian. Allan returned to Hibernian under freedom of contract in 2019 after four years at Celtic, departing in 2022.
He is also a Scotland youth international, having represented his country at under-17 and under-21 level.
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
supporter and said his idol was
Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is described by the National Football Museum as "widely recognised as the most naturally talente ...
.
Club career
Dundee United
Allan joined Dundee United at the age of 10, and signed a full-time contract in January 2008. In September 2008 he represented United against Montrose in a Forfarshire Cup tie.
Allan signed for Forfar Athletic in September 2010 on an emergency loan until 30 October 2010. He made his debut for them in a Second Division league fixture against Alloa Athletic on 2 September 2010. In total he made four league appearances for Forfar, scoring one goal for them, in his last game for the club on 30 October 2010 against Livingston.
After returning to United, Allan was named on the bench for four
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
(SPL) fixtures during the 2010–11 season but did not make an appearance. He made his debut for United on 14 July 2011, as a substitute in their 1–0 Europa League defeat against Śląsk Wrocław. He made his SPL debut on 31 July 2011 against Heart of Midlothian at Tynecastle Stadium in an away victory for Dundee United, playing 83 minutes. Contract negotiations between Allan, whose deal expired at the end of the 2011–12 season, and United broke down in September 2011. It was reported that he was asking for £1,600 per week, which would have made him the third highest earner at the club. Several clubs, including
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
, expressed an interest in signing Allan. As a result of rejecting a new contract, Allan fell out with Manager Peter Houston.
West Bromwich Albion
2011–12: Portsmouth loan
In December 2011, United agreed a deal with West Bromwich Albion. Allan completed his move to Albion on 9 January 2012.
In February 2012, he joined Championship side Portsmouth on a 28-day youth loan. His debut in English football came on 25 February for Portsmouth, when he featured in the starting line-up playing 76 minutes in scoreless draw at home to Leeds United. He then extended his deal by another 28 days on Thursday 22 March 2012. He scored his first goal for Portsmouth and set up a goal for
Greg Halford
Gregory Halford (born 8 December 1984) is an English semi-professional and former professional footballer who plays for Isthmian League North Division club Hashtag United. He is naturally a right-back or centre-back but can play in numerous pos ...
After his loan at Portsmouth, Allan was linked with a loan move with Crystal Palace. However, the move fell through.
On 29 September 2012, Allan joined League One side MK Dons on a one-month loan deal. He made his debut against Crewe Alexandra in a 1–0 victory.
On 29 October 2012, after little success with MK Dons, Albion sent Allan back to Portsmouth. Shortly signing for Portsmouth, Allan made his debut in a 1–0 loss against Sheffield United, playing 90 minutes. Weeks later, Allan scored on his return in a 3–2 loss against Leyton Orient. After the game, the club revealed they are on the verge of extending Allan's loan spell and it was successfully negotiated for another month On 21 December 2012, his loan spell was extended until 4 January 2013 He returned to Albion when his loan expired, having played his last game in a 2–0 loss against Walsall.
2013–14: Birmingham City loan
Allan signed for Birmingham City on a season-long loan on 19 July 2013. He made his debut as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 defeat at home to Watford on 3 August, and scored twice as Birmingham beat
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...
3–2 after extra time in the League Cup three days later. He made no first-team appearances after August until receiving a surprise recall to the squad, playing in two of the last three League matches of the season.
West Bromwich Albion chose not to take up the option of extending Allan's contract for another year, and he was released at the end of the 2013–14 season.
Hibernian
Despite being linked to a move to
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
, Allan signed a two-year contract with Hibernian in July 2014. Allan made his debut for Hibs on 5 August 2014, coming on as a substitute during extra-time in a 2–1 defeat against Rangers in the
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup, He made his first league appearance for Hibs on 17 August, coming on as a late substitute against Hearts. Allan soon established himself as a regular in the team, and after scoring his first goal for the club in a 6–3 win over Dumbarton in November, manager Alan Stubbs described him as being "as good as anyone in the league", adding that he considered Allan to be "head and shoulders above a lot of people he's up against." He turned in an outstanding performance for Hibs in their 4–0 win over Rangers on 27 December 2014, where he provided assists for Hibs' third and fourth goals and won the Man of the Match award. Allan helped Hibernian finish in second place ahead of Rangers, although Hibernian lost to them in the promotion play-offs. He did finish the season by being named the PFA Scotland Player of the Year for the Championship.
During the summer of 2015, Rangers made three transfer bids for Allan, the latter offer being for around £280,000. Although Allan also submitted a transfer request, Hibernian turned down all these bids as they were reluctant to sell him to their main rivals for promotion. A bid of £375,000 from Rotherham United was also turned down by Hibs. Celtic were then reported as expressing an interest in signing Allan, and Hibs subsequently agreed a 'cash plus player' deal with Celtic, with
Liam Henderson
Liam Henderson (born 25 April 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Empoli.
Henderson joined Celtic as a youth and progressed through the club's development squad before making his competitive ...
moving on loan in the opposite direction.
Celtic
2015–16
On 14 August 2015, Allan signed a four-year deal with Scottish Premiership champions Celtic. He made his debut on 22 August, coming on as a substitute during the second half of Celtic's 3–1 league win away at Dundee United. Allan made his Celtic Park debut, with 10 minutes remaining, in a 3–1 defeat of
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
a week later. He made his first start on 10 December, playing 73 minutes in a 1–1 draw at Fenerbahçe in the UEFA Europa League. Allan did not make his first league start for Celtic until 26 February, in a 1–1 draw at Hamilton Academical. His only other start for the team was a defeat at St Johnstone on 11 May.
Despite being mainly used as substitute throughout his first season, Allan managed to register assists in wins at
Inverness CT
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...
on 29 November and
Stranraer
Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...
on 11 January, and also made three more assists at home to Hamilton on 19 January and Inverness on 20 February. Allan made 17 appearances in all competitions for Celtic during the 2015–16 season. His 13 appearances in the league were enough to qualify him for a winner's medal, after Celtic won the Scottish Premiership title.
2016–17: Rotherham loan
Allan was loaned to
EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
team Rotherham United for the 2016–17 season. The move did not go well for Allan; he was dropped from the team in October 2016 with manager Alan Stubbs publicly criticising the player for lack of effort. Allan only played in a further three games after that, before returning to Celtic at the end of the season.
2017–18: Dundee and Hibernian loans
Allan joined
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
in June 2017, signing on a loan deal that was due to run for the whole of the 2017/18 season. He made his debut on 18 July in a 2–1 win over Raith Rovers in the Scottish League Cup, providing assists for both Dundee goals. His loan to Dundee was curtailed in January 2018, as Dundee, Celtic and Hibernian exchanged three players.
On 31 January 2018, Allan signed for Hibernian for a second time, joining on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season. In his first game back with Hibs on 3 February 2018, he won the penalty which led to their winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Rangers at Ibrox. He scored the first goal of his second spell with Hibs on 9 March, in a 2–0
Edinburgh derby
The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any football match played between Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian (Hibs), the two oldest professional clubs based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The two clubs have a fierce r ...
win against Hearts.
2018–19
Allan did not play in a competitive match for Celtic during the first part of the 2018–19 season, only appearing in pre-season friendlies and reserve team matches. He signed a pre-contract agreement with Hibernian in January 2019.
Hibernian (third spell)
Allan returned to Hibernian during the summer of 2019, having agreed a three-year contract with the club. He scored the winning goal in his first league appearance since signing, against St Mirren on 3 August.
During the early part of the 2020–21 season Allan was unable to play or train due to an unspecified medical issue. He resumed training in early December, although manager Jack Ross would not put a timescale on Allan playing in a match. On 23 January, Allan made his first appearance for Hibs after five months out of the team. Allan later said that he had been diagnosed with
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, or HOCM when obstructive) is a condition in which the heart becomes thickened without an obvious cause. The parts of the heart most commonly affected are the interventricular septum and the ventricles. This r ...
, a heart condition that caused tiredness and shortage of breath.
On 27 March 2021, Allan joined Inverness CT on loan for the rest of the 2020–21 season.
Allan returned to Hibs for the 2021–22 season, but made only six starts and was released at the end of his contract. Over his three spells at Easter Road, he made 129 appearances in all competitions and scored 17 goals.
Arbroath
Having expressed his worry that he was being overlooked by clubs as a potential signing due to his physical problems, Allan signed for Scottish Championship side
Arbroath
Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902.
It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen.
The ...
on 17 August 2022, on a two-year deal.
Larne (loan)
On 23 August 2023, after failing to nail down a regular place at Gayfield, Allan joined Northern Irish club and reigning NIFL Premiership champions Larne on a season-long loan.
Shortly after joining Dundee United as a youth, Allan was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. He requires daily insulin injections, but the condition has not unduly hindered his football career.
Allan was charged with assault in November 2010 after an incident in Glasgow which left two men needing hospital treatment. Charges against him were dropped on the basis of insufficient evidence, although three other men involved in the incident were convicted.
PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year
The PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year (often called the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Scottish Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in Scottish football ...