Is Noah Allen the true heir to Jordi Alba's left wing back spot at Inter Miami?

Reguilón may be more talented, but Allen has been more dependable

When Jordi Alba retired after Inter Miami won the 2025 MLS Cup, the Herons knew they couldn't replace his generational talent, but they needed someone to step into his left wing back role.

Enter acclaimed acquisitions Sergio Reguilón, whose resume includes the Real Madrid youth academy and stints at Sevilla, Tottenham Hotspur, Atlético Madrid, Manchester United and Brentford before finding his way to Inter Miami. What? That seems like a lot of stops for a 29-year-old? Yes.

Reguilón is very talented, but also very injury prone. Unfortunately, in South Florida the Herons have seen more of the latter than the former.

Fortunately, Las Garzas have a dependable backup. Noah Allen, at just 22, has appeared in more matches for Inter Miami (119) than any player in the team's short history, and has started at center back and left wing back. He's an Inter Miami Academy product and an Under-22 player born not far from Miami in Pembroke Pines; his dogged determination, reliability and poise have attracted international interest, earned him a spot with the Greek national team and made him a La Familia favorite.

Allen has enjoyed perhaps the best back-to-back performances of his Herons career in Saturday's 2-2 MLS draw with Columbus and Wednesday's 4-2 Leagues Cup victory against Atlético San Luis.

Against the Crew, Allen charged into the box and headed home a Lionel Messi cross to score for just the second time in his senior career. He completed 55 of 61 passes (90 percent), made three passes into the final third and completed 2 of 4 long balls. On defense, he added three tackles and a clearance and one 3 of 4 aerial duels and 3 of 4 ground duels. Allen played the full 90 minutes and earned a FotMob player rating of 7.5 of a possible10.

Allen played even better Wednesday. Against San Luis, he had three assists (two to Messi, repaying his debt from the previous match) and completed 31 of 36 passes (86 percent) in 83 minutes. The three helpers give him 10 career assists.

The point is, the Greek-American is showing growth as an attacker; ideally, success breeds confidence breeds greater success (at least for a few seasons) and Allen can become a more balanced wing back.

I'm not trying to argue that Noah ever will be as talented as Reguilón; I am arguing that he might be a more dependable, more affordable, and more popular option. Reguilón will make a base salary of $1.8 million in 2026 -- almost 10 times what Allen's base.

The Herons' historically bring in new foreign players each year to supplant good young prospects already on the roster, and each year Allen, Ian Fray and Yannick Bright prove their worth. Maybe it's about time for the team to trust the process.

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