Ryan Bertrand will see the rest of the season out at Aston Villa, having found regular first team football hard to come by at Chelsea.
The 24-year-old has been at Stamford Bridge since signing from Gillingham as a youth team player in 2005, and agreed his first professional deal 12 months later. He has, though struggled to force his way into the starting XI on a regular basis, with England’s Ashley Cole and even usual right-back Cesar Azpilicueta currently preferred.
Bertrand, who impressed as the Blues won the UEFA Champions League against Bayern Munich in 2012, has made just one Premier League appearance this season, with another two outings in the League Cup. However, he will now hope to get far many chances after joining Villa on loan for the remainder of the current campaign.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to come here,” said “Aston Villa is a fantastic club with a massive fanbase and a great history. To get this chance to come here and play some games will be a really good step for me. I know I can settle in here quickly and I’m looking forward to being able to contribute to the team. This is a really traditional English club, a family club as well and you get the feeling that everyone really knows one another.”
So rather than hoping for his chance to help Chelsea compete for silverware on three fronts, Bertrand will likely be a key figure as Villa look to pull away from the danger zone in the Premier League. Paul Lambert’s side, who has lost five of their last seven matches, are in 11th place in the standing, yet just five points clear of the bottom three.
The defender is the second temporary signing Lambert has made this week, having earlier secured a deal for Grant Holt. The Villa Park boss knows the 32-year-old from their time at Norwich City together, and he hopes the Wigan Athletic forward can pile pressure on Belgian international Christian Benteke for a place in the first team.
