Ryan Bertrand: 'I will not sit on Chelsea bench next season'

Ryan Bertrand has insisted that he will not return to Chelsea just to play a supporting role next season.

The 24-year-old defender is coming to the end of a loan spell with Aston Villa, and he admits that his priority this summer is to secure regular first-team football, although that could mean leaving Stamford Bridge.

"The start of this season has been the only time when there has been quite a delay in my development. As soon as those alarm bells were ringing it was important I got out to play," Bertrand told the Daily Mail.

"It's something we'll sit down and talk about in the summer. At this stage in my career I need to be playing. To go back next year to Chelsea and sit on the bench is not what I want.

"I feel I deserve the chance to play consistently, having had the experiences that I have done under numerous managers."

Bertrand is expected to be involved when Villa take on Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.