Leicester: 3 Reasons why Ryan Bertrand is an underrated signing

The transfer window is still in its early stages, but Leicester City have already made great strides to correct the wrongs of last season with the signings of Boubakary Soumaré and Patson Daka.

Ryan Bertrand is now set to join Leicester City on a free transfer, likely to be announced soon. Although not met with the same ‘hype’ as the rumours surrounding Robin Gosens, Bertrand may prove to be another shrewd acquisition by Jon Rudkin.

Ryan Bertrand can still do a job on the pitch

Whilst Bertrand represents a departure from the trend of signing young players, the 31-year-old still has plenty to offer, with 258 appearances at Premier League level. Furthermore, Bertrand is comfortable at either bombing forward as a wing-back or playing a more defensive full-back role, with both being utilised in Hasenhüttl’s high-pressing system.

Last season at Southampton saw him play a more defensive role in Southampton’s  4-4-2. Often Bertrand ended up tucking into a ‘back 3’ allowing his full-back partner to bomb forward. This could work well at Leicester City with Bertrand allowing Castagne and Ricardo to utilise their attacking talents. What’s more, this offers Rodgers the ability to easily switch formations in-game. In terms of his strengths, Smarterscout indicates that Bertrand offers an aerial presence and is tough in the tackle, despite not being the tallest full-back around. It’s also worth mentioning that the Englishman is extremely comfortable on the ball even if he isn’t the same attacking force as other EPL full-backs.