Chelsea left-back Ryan Bertrand loaned to Southampton

Ryan Bertrand in a Southampton shirt

Having been absent from any level of pre season training so far the future of 24 year old left back Ryan Bertrand was something of a mystery and with Liverpool sniffing around for a permanent transfer it seemed likely that he would be leaving for good this summer.

However yesterday his immediate future has been clarified as he as agreed to join Southampton on loan for the rest of the season filling the spot vacated by Luke Shaw who has moved on to Manchester United. With regards to loan clubs Bertrand has been around the block and this is his 7th loan club.

Bertrand signed a new 5 year deal 2 summers ago and at the time looked like being able to eventually force his way into the first team squad on a regular basis and with only Luis as a recognised left back there is technically still a spot but it may be that time has now passed for Bertrand for whatever reason. There are some reports that part of the loan deal for Bertrand is with a view to them signing him up at the end of the loan deal.

Given the fact that he has had no involvement with the first team this pre season it seems most likely that he will not be featuring for the first team again and will eventually move on to pastures new at the end of next season and quite possibly Southampton if the loan works for both parties.

There is no doubt in my mind that Bertrand is a good Premier League left back but unfortunately just not to the very high standards expected at Chelsea although for me he would have been ideal back up for us. There are opportunities at Southampton this season with their exodus and i feel he will be a good fit there and do well for himself following a decent spell during the second half of last season at Aston Villa.