CHELSEA'S BERTRAND COMPLETES A LOAN MOVE TO SOUTHAMPTON

Chelsea's Ryan Bertrand completed a loan move to Southampton until the end of the season.

Ryan Bertrand has joined Southampton on a season-long loan from Chelsea for the 2014-15 campaign

Bertrand, a Chelsea Academy product, made his Chelsea debut in April 2011 and just over a year later lifted the Champions League on his first European outing for the club. He remains the only player ever to make his European bow in the final of the competition.

The 24-year-old left-back has played 57 times for our first team and has gained two England caps.

Bertrand was an £8million target for Liverpool but opted for regular first team football at St Mary's under Ronald Koeman.

The full-back spent last season on loan at Aston Villa but he will now move to the south coast for the 2014-15 campaign.

Bertrand said: 'This is another chance to join a fantastic club that's moving in the right direction.

'With the club's set-up, 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.

'I had a lot of options and a lot of interest but in my mind this was the perfect decision.' 

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.'

The 24-year-old left-back has played 57 times for Chelsea and has gained two England caps.

He made three appearances for the Blues in the first half of the 2013/14 campaign before joining Aston Villa on loan in January, where he featured 16 times.