Ryan Bertrand says that he is looking to follow in the footsteps of Ashley Cole

Southampton defender Ryan Bertrand says that he is looking to follow in the footsteps of Ashley Cole.

The former Chelsea defender was an understudy to Cole during his time at Stamford Bridge. Even though Bertrand was part of the Champions League final in 2012, he never was considered as a regular first choice at Chelsea. This led to his permanent move to Southampton last summer. The benefits of regular football have been immensely helping him, as Bertrand was part of the defence that conceded the second least amount of goals in the league last season.

Apart from having made his debut for Chelsea in a huge match such as the Champions League final, Bertrand has also gone on to make for England appearances. The future of Bertrand as a regular in the England team largely depends upon the success of Luke Shaw at Manchester United.Shaw is a much more high-profile player, who has struggled to deal with injuries in the last 12 months. If the situation continues, it is highly likely that Bertrand will be the first choice going into the Euro 2016 since Roy Hodgson is likely to prefer the 25-year-old over the ageing Leighton Baines. Further, Baines has not been in great form in the last 12 months either.

"On a personal note it was good, it was a very proud moment to start, it was a proud moment for my family as a whole. For me it is business, though. I am an England player and I was fully focused.I learned a lot (from Cole), on the pitch and off the pitch, the way he went about his business was fantastic. We had a really good relationship on and off the field,” said the former Chelsea defender. Cole is currently playing with Roma but is widely expected to return to the Premier League.