Antonio Conte is reportedly eyeing to bring in yet another former player at Stamford Bridge this summer in Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand. The English full-back has developed phenomenally over the past few seasons and broke into the limelight last season with some eye-catching displays especially in the EFL Cup final against Manchester United.
Chelsea have a more or less complete squad now, following the arrival of Tiemoue Bakayoko, Alvaro Morata and Antonio Rudiger but those arrivals were merely replacements and they hardly increased the depth of the side. While Rudiger came in at the back of the departures of John Terry and Nathan Ake, Morata is an obvious replacement for Diego Costa and Bakayoko’s arrival is widely considered as a precaution in the likely event of the departure of Nemanja Matic from Stamford Bridge.
The squad looks brilliant on the paper and could have won the Premier League again next season if Chelsea had only competed in the league with no midweek fixtures to wear them down. Unfortunately, that is not the case and the Blues are now competing on four fronts, which demands a strong bench, to patch up the wounds as and when needed.
And wing-back remains one of the crisis areas for the Italian boss, whose three-man defence requires tremendous energy on the flanks. While the likes of Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses were up for the task last season, they would need a quality back-up to keep the side going when injuries come in.
Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand has emerged as a top option now after the Blues failed to get in Alex Sandro from Juventus. The English left back in now a regular in the national team courtesy of his fantastic display at St. Mary’s and the long-term injury to Tottenham Hotspur’s Danny Rose further helped him.
Bertrand managed to score thrice and assist four times last season in 39 appearances, despite playing in a side which hardly had quality centre forwards up front in Charlie Austin and Shane Long. Chelsea could benefit hugely by his buy given that his left flank runs would allow Eden Hazard to push more towards an inside forward role.
The 27-year-old excels in crossing and having someone like Morata at the centre would increase Chelsea’s chances of scoring by multiple times. The disciplined play remains one of Bertrand’s main strengths and his persistence pretty much compensates for his small frame.
He lacks the efficacy from aerial duels, which Chelsea’s Alonso has in abundance. Pretty much like Alonso, Bertrand can also score from long range. Chelsea will be a force to reckon with if he returns to them this summer.
