Southampton: Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid ready to bid on Bertrand
Reports have starting coming out that Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are both interested in bringing-in Bertrand this summer for a fee around £15m.
The news does not come as a complete shock as it had already been rumored that Bertrand would be allowed to leave and sold for the right price, but it is the teams that are interested in the Englishman that come as a bit of a shock.
The Italian side, who already have Cedric on loan, are looking to add to their defensive depth by bringing in the 29-year-old defender and Madrid are in need of a replacement after Lucas Hernandez was snatched up by Bayern Munich.
The Saints want the deal to be around £15m but the Inter and Atleti would both like to talk the Saints down and get it done for closer to £10m. Personally, I would be upset if the club settled for anything less than £12m so hopefully they are prepared to drive a hard bargain.
With the impending sale of Targett and now Bertrand there is going to be a new face occupying the left-back position for the Saints next season.
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The question is, who will it be? Will it be a youth player brought up similar to Yan Valery on the other side or will the club dip its toes back into the transfer market and bring in a new face?
Regardless of who ends up starting on the left this puts the Saints in the market for a new left-back. You cannot sell two without at least bringing in one.
If no one is brought in it will leave Southampton very thin at the left-back position with just academy players left to fill the void.
It worked out well on the right with Valery but that does not guarantee it will work again. It would be wise to bring in at least a somewhat proven defender who can step in right away and carry their weight.
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Bertrand has given this club some great years and even wore the Captain’s armband for some time. He was a hardnosed defender and became a leader for a young side the past few seasons. It will be sad to see him go but Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid would be great steps forward for his career and legacy.