Ryan Bertrand

Ryan Bertrand

England Under-21 defender Ryan Bertrand believes that his career in the first-team squad at Chelsea has been hindered by Ashley Cole’s talent despite it being a great experience to learn from the Three Lions' Player of the Year.

The 21-year-old has been on loan at lower league teams since his debut for the Blues in 2006 and first team opportunities stifled by the presence of one of the mainstays of the Stamford Bridge team.

Bertrand admits that he has learnt a great deal from Cole, whom he considers to be the best left-back in the world.

"It's a massive positive having him at Chelsea - and a massive hindrance too I suppose!" said Bertrand, who joined the Blues aged 15.

"He's definitely right up there - his attitude, the way he goes about training.

“He's won the most FA Cups, and a lot of other silverware, and to still have that attitude at his age is fantastic."

"He's a fantastic role model, despite all the stuff that gets written about him. He's a brilliant man and a brilliant player to have around to help you with your game.

"If I ever have anything to ask him about a certain situation on the pitch, he's more than happy to come back and talk."

Bertrand has tough competition in his position with Patrick van Aanholt contending for the left back berth at Stamford Bridge.

He also has to rise above Leighton Baines and Kieran Gibbs, who pulled out of the U21 championships due to an injury, if he is to ever land Cole’s place in the England national team.

Bertrand is likely to go out on loan next season to get more regular first-team action and he admits that he sometimes thinks that things would have been better for him if he had been a right-back but he has not made any decision on his future yet.

"Every player has different paths and mine so far has been out on loan,” he added.

"You've seen the benefit for Scott [Sinclair]. He's gone up this year with Swansea and it's been fantastic for him.

"I'm just concentrating on the near future."