Chelsea Reject Liverpool Approach for Wide-Man Ryan Bertrand

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Stamford Bridge side turn down Anfield advance.

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Chelsea have rejected an approach from Liverpool over the availability of left back Ryan Bertrand according to the Guardian.

The 23-year-old will head into the new season to play second fiddle to first-choice left back Ashley Cole once again after the former Arsenal man, 32, penned a one-year extension with the Stamford Bridge club.

But Bertrand has now reiterated his desire to remain with the London side despite interest from Anfield as looks to eventually succeed Cole for club and country.

Returning Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly held talks with the defender about his role at the club and described the talks as ‘very positive’ backed up by Chelsea’s decision to reject Liverpool’s interest in the former Gillingham man.

After featuring in 38 of the Blues 69 matches last season, Bertrand is likely to have a considerable role to play with the club especially with Cole’s persistent ankle troubles which cause him to miss nearly every other game.

Bertrand, who was signed from the Kent club in a £125,000 deal as a 15-year-old, admits that he wants a bigger role at Stamford Bridge but is willing to wait for the opportunity: “I want to be Chelsea’s No1 left-back, and when that time comes it will happen,”

“All I can do is be ready and keep playing, keep biding my time. I’m thinking of nothing else. I am just focusing on being No1, concentrating on progression in the games I get, and I’ve managed to do so in recent years.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is understood to be in the market for a left-back but according to Goal.com have given up their pursuit of Bertrand, who only signed a six-year deal less than 12 months ago, due to his wage demands. His advisors reportedly told Liverpool that he would want around £60,000-a-week to make the switch to Anfield, nearly double that of his current salary.

With two England caps, four Great Britain Olympic appearances and a Champions League final appearance already under his belt, the Southwark-born man is now prepared to be patient before becoming a first-team regular at Stamford Bridge.

He added: “Patience is the key. When Ashley signed his new contract last season I was still just concentrating on myself. [If he’d left] there would have been another left-back anyway, so it won’t be: ‘As soon as Ash goes, there we are, it’s mine.’ The work will still be there to do. That’s the way it is at the top level. You have to be able to compete. That’s just the way it is, and this is still the place I want to be. I’m used to that.”


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