Southampton Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Ryan Bertrand from Chelsea.
The 24 year-old joins on a season-long loan deal from the west London side.
Chief Executive Officer Gareth Rogers commented: “Ryan is a young, attacking full-back and will fit in perfectly with the club’s philosophy and style of play.
“This is another important step forward in terms of rebuilding our first-team squad with exciting English talent at its core.”
First Team Manager Ronald Koeman said: “I’m very happy to be able to bring Ryan in.
“I spoke to him on Monday afternoon and I was very impressed with his attitude and how keen he was to play games for Southampton.
“He is a top player who will bring a lot of quality to the team. He has experience at the highest level and is an exciting, attacking player, which is what I like to see in my full-backs.
“I’ve been very impressed with how Matt Targett is doing in pre-season, but he is still young and developing, which I am sure he will continue to do over the coming seasons.
“Left-back is an important position in the team because it is quite specialised in terms of the attributes needed to play there, so it is nice to get this signing completed because it gives us some stability.”
Bertrand added: “For me personally, this is another chance to play and a chance to join a fantastic club that’s moving in the right direction.
“With the set-up the club’s got, the manager it has coming in and the ethos it has, I thought this was a perfect match.
“The manager’s name speaks for itself, so to play under somebody like that will be good for me. His ethos and the way he plays matches my game.
“I had a lot of options and a lot of interest but, having met the people and spoken to the manager and seen what the club is about, in my mind this was the perfect decision.
“I’m looking to get games and to play regularly in the way and the formation that I like, and I’m sure that will benefit my game. I still think the best is yet to come from me.”
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