Chelsea
Liverpool & Chelsea In Battle To Sign Want-Away England International
Chelsea and Liverpool face a battle with Manchester City to land Ryan Bertrand as the left-back looks to secure a move away from Southampton this summer
Managers are now pressing ahead with their plans for the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, the chase for Ryan Bertrand hots-up…
Chelsea and Liverpool face a battle with Manchester City to land Ryan Bertrand as the left-back looks to secure a move away from Southampton this summer, according to the Mirror.
Bertrand came through the youth ranks at Chelsea but was forced to spend several years out on loan at various clubs after struggling to establish himself in the first team squad.
The left-back eventually secured a permanent switch to Southampton in 2015 after spending the previous campaign on loan at St Mary’s and he’s developed in to one of the best full-backs in the Premier League over the past two years.
The 27-year-old has also established himself in the England national team set-up and his form has attracted interest from several top clubs with the Mirror reporting last month that Chelsea and Liverpool were battling over his signature.
Antonio Conte is on the look-out for another left-sided defender to compete with Marcos Alonso ahead of Chelsea’s return to the Champions League and it appears the Italian coach is hoping to give Bertrand another chance in west London.
Liverpool are also in the market for another left-back to act as a long-term replacement for James Milner after he was asked to fill-in last season but Jurgen Klopp may find it difficult to do business with Southampton amid their current dispute with the south coast club over Virgil van Dijk.
The duo will now face even more competition as the Mirror claim that Man City have now stepped-up their interest in signing Bertrand as an alternative to Benjamin Mendy.
City have been strongly linked with the Monaco full-back but the paper says Pep Guardiola has been forced to look elsewhere after the Ligue 1 champions demanded £40m for Mendy so he’s switched his focus to Bertrand.
The Saints will no doubt be desperate to keep their team together this summer but the Mirror claim that Bertrand has told friends he wants to leave so a move to one of England’s top clubs could now be on the cards.
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It will be interesting to see how things progress but given that the defender still lives near Chelsea’s Cobham training ground in Surrey the Blues could be seen as the front runners to secure a deal.
It remains to be seen whether Bertrand wants to go back to Stamford Bridge given his lack of opportunities during his first spell at the club but I think he’d be an excellent signing for any of the clubs being linked.
