Ryan Bertrand has expressed his desire to grab England’s left-back spot “by the scruff of the neck” after being named in Roy Hodgson’s squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania.
Bertrand was a surprise call-up to the 23-man party having just returned to action for Southampton following minor surgery on both knees during the summer. The 26-year-old has impressed in his three games, most notably in the 3-1 win at Chelsea last Saturday, and has a more than realistic chance of becoming England’s first-choice left-back before next summer’s Euros given the long-term absence of Luke Shaw. The Manchester United player is out for a minimum of six months having suffered a double fracture of his right leg in the defeat to PSV Eindhoven last month.
“It’s good to be back [in the England squad] but I can’t go rushing up and down like a madman just yet,” Bertrand said. “But as each game goes by I get fitter and fitter and hopefully get back up to where I was last year and crack on from there.
“It’s always a pleasure to be called up for your country. It’s on everyone’s minds, especially with the Euros coming up. Everyone will be going there vying for a place and looking to cement their place for the summer. The left-back place is certainly up for grabs. Even with everyone fit, to be honest, no one’s nailed it down. It’s about who really goes in there and grabs it by the scruff of the neck and makes it their own. Hopefully it can be me.”
Ronald Koeman feels sure Bertrand can secure England’s starting left-back place – his strongest competition is likely to come from Everton’s Leighton Baines, and Shaw if he can recover in time – describing him as “one of the best” in his position in this country.
“He can be the best, but he’s still young and still has to improve,” the Southampton manager said. “But after you are three months out, don’t have good pre-season and are still impressive, that’s is very good. He’s defending well and offensively very strong; good cross, good passing. I like that kind of full-back.”