Transfer News: Romano rules out Chelsea reunion for 32-year-old PL defender

Transfer News: Leicester City defender Ryan Bertrand’s return to Chelsea ruled out in January

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano (h/t Mirror), a move back to Chelsea for Leicester City left-back Ryan Bertrand has never been an option, despite rumours.

With Chelsea’s defensive crisis in full swing after Ben Chilwell was ruled out for the rest of the season, the Blues have been looking at potential options in the transfer market to replace the England international. Marcos Alonso is now the only senior left-back available at the club.

Bertrand, who came through Chelsea’s academy, has been linked with a move back to the Blues in January, but Romano has dismissed these rumours and ruled out a possible move to London for the Englishman.

Bertrand secured a permanent move to Southampton from Chelsea in 2015, before once again moving to Leicester City the previous summer after his contract with the Saints expired. However, the left-back has struggled for regular minutes with the Foxes, and put in underwhelming performances when handed chances.

Timothy Castagne and Luke Thomas are evidently ahead of him in the pecking order. Despite this, Romano has said that the Englishman will remain at Leicester, and that there are currently ‘no talks or contacts’ with Bertrand about a move to Chelsea.

Chelsea’s Emerson Palmieri, on loan at Lyon, is another name linked to Thomas Tuchel’s side, but the manager has confirmed that there have been no updates yet on that front.

Having played in Chelsea’s academy, Bertrand is no stranger to Chelsea fans, having won a Champions League, FA Cup, and Europa League with the Blues before departing for Southampton. The Englishman had made his European debut in the Champions League final, which he went on to win.

Despite not being a regular starter for us, Bertrand shone through in the appearances he did make and could always be relied upon to put in a decent shift at left-back. It may be these qualities of his that prompted rumours of a return to Stamford Bridge.

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We are certainly desperate for a left-back in this January window. It is evident because Callum Hudson-Odoi and Saul Niguez are among the players who have already played as makeshift wing-backs down that side this season.

With the move now ruled out by Romano, we can hope that Tuchel and the Chelsea board have other plans in mind to plug in our defensive gap. Bertrand, now 32, isn’t really in the finest spell of his career and it is perhaps better that we look for more refined options than him this month.