Ryan Bertrand has spoken of his desire to sign a new contract at Saints and be part of Ralph Hasenhuttl's plans going forward, good news about a player who could be considered one of our best signings since our return to the Premier League.
Ryan Bertrand has given the club great service since signing in the summer of 2014, joining a club in turmoil with some of it's best players leaving, but he soon became part of a team that bettered Mauricio Pochettino's side and 7 years later he is still at the club and is an elder statesman now along with Shane Long.
In this his 7th season he has started 175 Premier League games for the club and another as sub, meaning that if he wants to hit 200 in the League he will have to play every game in the remainder of this season, although he will hit the target when cup games are added.
At 31 Bertrand has maybe two seasons left in him as a first choice player and as a defender may get a third in as a squad player, all teams need old heads, and the value of Bertrand and indeed Long is not just on the pitch but off the field on the training ground and in and around the club.
Bertrand had this to say to the Daily Echo.
"Definitely, I want to stay. That’s my thought process.
"I see myself staying here and it would be great to be part of this club for the long haul.
"I’ve been here so long. I have still got plenty of years left in me. And to go beyond that and possibly work for the club even after football.
"I’m fully focussed on hopefully extending my contract here.”
Asked how close a new deal was to being agreed, Bertrand added:
"I don’t think it’s too far away.
"It’s in the club’s hands, to be honest.”
Quizzed on Bertrand's contract situation earlier this month, boss Ralph Hasenhuttl had said:
"We are in negotiations with a lot of players now.
"We show them that we want them but we must be strong to stay in our (financial) limits. This is important for our future and that we have a healthy one.
"Whoever wants to follow us is invited and the rest are not ours."
It seems that Ryan Bertrand is one that wants to stay.
All in all Bertrand has been perhaps one of the best signings for the club in the past 9 seasons since the club returned to the Premier League, he has been a mainstay of the team since he joined and at£10 million a bargain.
As a defender he has never quite received the adulation that attackers do, but he has been consistent and never attracted abuse from that section of the crowd that seem to love to hate certain players, he has just gone out and rarely put in a performance less than 8/10 week in week out.
I for one would be delighted to see him sign a new deal and help bring on his successor, whether that be Jake Vokins or someone brought in from elsewhere.