Leicester City journalist Rob Tanner has provided an update on the club’s reported interest in Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand.
The 31-year-old left-back, who has made 19 appearances for the England team, is set to leave St Mary’s at the end of the season following the expiration of his contract and will be available on a free transfer.
A recent report in The Telegraph claimed that the Foxes were considering making a move with Christian Fuchs set to leave at the end of his deal and James Justin still scheduled to be recovering from his ACL injury. However, speaking on the 5000/1 podcast (30:43), Tanner claimed that the move was unlikely to go ahead due to conflicting demands from the player and the club:
“They’ve expressed interest in Ryan Bertrand, but I think from what I’m being told they only want a left-back to come in for one year, and they want to give Luke Thomas time to develop plus James Justin to get back from his injury. So I think they might be covered long-term in that area.
“So they wanted to bring somebody in for a year but Ryan Bertrand wants more than that, obviously, at his age, he wants to get two or three-year contracts. So we’ll have to see how that unfolds.”
TIF Thoughts on Rob Tanner’s comments on Ryan Bertrand to Leicester City
Will Leicester finish inside the top four?
Yes
No
Not going through with the deal makes sense for both parties given the circumstances. Leicester are right to protect their long-term asset in the form of Luke Thomas and James Justin whilst at the same time adding depth for their European campaign next season, whether it be in the Champions League or the Europa League.
And it makes sense for Bertrand knowing that whilst he might get some game-time in his first season, that is likely going to plummet once the two players ahead of him are fit and healthy in his second or third season, so the move probably wouldn’t have been right for him either.
In other news: ‘Stands out in a key stage’ – BBC pundit claims Leicester star ‘hasn’t been himself’