As disclosed earlier today on this website, talks between Saints and Ryan Bertrand have reached a conclusion with no agreement being reached and subsequently the defender will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Saints have announced that Ryan Bertrand will leave the club at the end of the season, as detailed in an article on this site earlier today Bertrand has been a good servant to Saints and will have n shortage of offers with seemingly Arsenal and Manchester City both said to be interested.

For this morning's article click on the link below.

https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/southampton/news/55035/ryan-bertrand-turn

Saints club statement read as follows:

Southampton Football Club can today confirm that Ryan Bertrand will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Bertrand initially joined Saints on loan from Chelsea in 2014, before making his move permanent at the start of 2015. He has gone on to make 240 appearances for the club, scoring eight times, and was a key part of the team during one of the most successful periods in the club’s history.

Whilst that time will always be fondly remembered, the club and Ryan have agreed that now is the time to respectfully part ways and move forward on different paths.

Everyone associated with Southampton would like to thank Ryan for his contribution to the history of the club, and for all the memories he has helped create for our fans. He will forever be welcome at St Mary’s and Staplewood and will always be a Saint.

Photo: Action Images

Jesus_02 added 14:46 - May 12 Frankly.. I though he stayed longer than he would. Great servant.
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Centurion added 16:04 - May 12 A fair statement. Time for Ryan to move on and I am sure we wish the best of luck.
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Crispinmumbles added 16:20 - May 12 One of our four or five players of real quality. how are we going to replace him? God I wish that we hadn't sold Matt Targett.
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underweststand added 17:45 - May 12 Surely this is not a surprise decision - or is it ? The fact that there has been a contract on the table for --(a year ?) must show that Ryan had already decided that enough is enough, and I am not one to blame him. At this stage of his career he has one decision to make. Does he want to finish his career playing for a club that is fighting for a Euro spot, or one that is seemingly staving off relegation every season. His service to the club has been excellent and in general his performances have been to a high standard and few would deny that, but clearly Ralph's playing style is very challenging for someone already past 30, who is unlikely to return to the excellent form he first showed after signing 6 years ago. IF ..Arsenal is his eventual destination (?), both he and Cedric will bring an enormous amount of experience to the Gunner's dressing room which has had " a revolving door " to it ever since Arsene Wenger's departure, and needs more stability in the squad. Good luck Ryan, now the club needs to look for a suitable (but younger) replacement.

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mattlegod added 17:51 - May 12 So, assuming my assumptions are right (?), why have we left it until he is free of contract so we can't even cash in on him in any way. With the finances being as they are surely every little helps? Also noticed no word of hassenhuttle in his statement
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YosemiteSaint added 19:47 - May 12 He's been a great servant to the club, and he's put in plenty of good (at times great) shifts for us. At the same time, I can't help but feel that over the past two years he's not been enjoying the game as much. I've silly data on this based on how long it takes him to take throw-ins; he's a master of taking the air out of the ball (as some yellow-card-wielding referees have noticed as well). I've found that the longer he's been at Saints, in general, the longer it's taken him to put the ball in play. Such observations are probably meaningless. But, to me, as a left back who was always poised to jump start the attack, I was always ready to get it going as soon as I could, as situations are developing (not after they've done). Despite his flashes of brilliance attacking down the wing and his gift for crossing the ball, I saw in such touchline "slowdown moments" a sense that he'd become jaded, and was ready for new challenges. I wish him well. I just wish he didn't string us along, so we could have got something for him at some point (when, of course, we enough players left!). Matt Targett, thou shouldst yet be a Saint at this hour!

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davidargyll added 20:03 - May 12 I agree that we should wish him well. But I would be very surprised if he manages to land a three year contract somewhere else better than us...
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WestSussexSaint added 21:22 - May 12 Based on the return on investment (transfer fee and wages) I would say Bertrand has been one of the best signings in recent years. Think along the lines of Steven Davis or Jose Fonte. His best in my mind was the seasons under Koeman with Clyde on the right the pair set the benchmark for a duel full back threat. The downturn seemed to coincide with his omission from the 2018 England World Cup squad. A decision that I still can’t work out - Ashley Young played instead for f**ks sake! That was also the downturn in Saints fortunes with the manager merry go round starting with Claude Puel. It’s probably unsurprising that his love for the game dipped and this translated on the pitch performances. Whatever the next chapter is for Ryan I wish him all the best and thank him for the service to Saints over the years.

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SalisburySaint added 08:01 - May 13 Been a great servant to the club, but past his best now, but even so he will be hard to replace as he combined good defending with excellent overlapping play when at his best.
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SanMarco added 08:25 - May 13 I'm sorry to see him go. He has been a leading player for a number of years and our problem is that this is another player we have to find in the summer just to get back to where we are now. His problem (assuming he wants to play football regularly) is where he is going to go that is better than us with higher wages and regular game time? I certainly echo those saying good luck to him.

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SaintStu7 added 12:50 - May 13 Great player for us and wish him all the best. Definitely time to go as mentioned his heart is not in it anymore. Although still safe at the back, when was his last contribution going forward. Hope he gets a good contract but happy he will be draining someone else’s bank account as he drifts to retirement.
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sidsaint added 19:50 - May 13 If we're looking for a replacement there's a guy at Villa called Targett who's quite useful. He has certainly been a good servant for the club for a number of years and a nicely worded leaving statement but no great tribute from Ralf. I thought he was trying to stay with us and then move on to a coaching position or even more.
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