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Date of Birth: Saturday, August 5, 1989
Birth Place: England
Height: 179cm
Position: Defender
Former Clubs/Teams: Norwich City, Oldham Athletic, AFC Bournemouth

Biography

Ryan Bertrand is a defender for Chelsea in the English Premier League, currently on loan at Reading in the English Championship. He is an attacking left-back in the Ashley Cole mould, with his willingness to burst forwards and join the attacks also making him a very capable left winger.

Childhood

Bertrand was born on 5th August 1989 in Southwark, South London. As a youngster he was scouted by lower-league side Gillingham, signing up for their academy when he was only just a teenager.

Early Career

Some fantastic performances in the youth teams led to interest from bigger clubs, with Chelsea amongst the interested parties. In July 2005, before he was even 16 years old, Chelsea made a move for Bertrand, with him signing his first professional forms with Chelsea rather than Gillingham. An independent tribunal valued Ryan at £125,000, even though he had yet to play a first-team match.

Current Club

Ryan has been at Chelsea since 2005, and is edging towards the first-team. Spells on loan at Bournemouth gave him some experience, but it was only in his loan spells at Oldham and then Norwich that Bertrand became a first-team regular.

He has been on loan at Norwich for a season and a half, with the Canaries benefiting from his raw pace, agility and fearless play. He has been tipped to have a great future at Chelsea, with the departure of Wayne Bridge helping him in his quest for regular Premier League football.

International

Ryan Bertrand has represented England at U-16, U-17, U-19 and U-21 levels, with coach Stuart Pearce singling him out as one of the brightest prospects, and calling him up to the U-21 set-up early - making his debut in the UEFA U21 Qualifier against Portugal in September 2008.