Leicester City are resigned to losing Ben Chilwell this summer and have targeted Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand as a possible replacement, per The Times.
Chelsea have targeted Chilwell this summer and have been told that they will have to pay around £75 million to secure his signature this summer.
Nevertheless, Brendan Rodgers’ side are said to have started looking at possible replacements and Bertrand is of interest to the former Liverpool boss.
Bertrand has won 19 caps for England and has just a year left on his contract, though the Saints would prefer to keep him.
The 30-year-old worked with Rodgers during his time at Reading and was previously linked with a move to the Foxes in January, per the report.
It is said that Chelsea will have to sell one of Marcos Alonso or Emerson Palmieri to fund a move for Chilwell.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
Leicester are very good at replacing their top stars.
Over the last few years, they have lost the likes of N’Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez, and Harry Maguire and have dipped into the transfer market to replace them successfully each time.
Now, it appears that a similar story could unfold with Chilwell.
A move for Bertrand may seem curious at first glance – he is ageing and has never played at a top-four level before – but Rodgers knows him well and he is a steady hand who has plenty of experience.
Any move would cost a fraction of what Chelsea will surely pay for the Foxes left-back and one has to believe that there will be money left over to strengthen other areas of a squad that is likely to be playing Champions League football next season.
This could well be a win-win for Leicester.