Ryan Dominic Bertrand (born 5 August 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Premier League club Leicester City. Bertrand began his youth career at Gillingham, before signing for Chelsea in July 2005. He graduated from Chelsea's youth system and was sent on loan to various clubs between 2006 and 2010. He made his full debut for Chelsea on in April 2011, six years after joining them, in a fixture against Birmingham City. In the 2011–12 season, Bertrand signed a new four-year contract with Chelsea and was made understudy to Ashley Cole. In May 2012, Bertrand became the first player to make his Champions League debut in the final, starting in an unfamiliar left wing role in front of Cole; Chelsea beat Bayern Munich 4–3 on penalties. Bertrand is an England international, having also represented 'the Young Lions' at under-17, under-18, under-19, under-20, under-21 levels, as well as Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He made his debut for the England senior team in August 2012 in a friendly against Italy, in a 2–1 win. Early life Bertrand was born in Southwark, London. He joined Gillingham aged nine, progressing through their youth system. Bertrand attended the Robert Napier School in Gillingham, Kent. Club career Chelsea Bertrand was signed by Chelsea in July 2005 from Gillingham for an initial £125,000, which was set by a tribunal and was subject to increases depending on progress. Loan spells During the 2006–07 season, he was twice sent on loan to AFC Bournemouth, at the same time as Chelsea teammate Jack Cork. He suffered a ruptured spleen in a youth team match against Arsenal that ruled him out of the later part of that season. In August 2007, Bertrand joined Oldham Athletic on loan until January 2008. On 4 January 2008, a matter of days after his spell at Oldham came to an end, Bertrand joined Norwich City on loan for the rest of the 2007–08 season. He put in a number of impressive displays playing at both left-back and on the left wing, and admitted he would welcome a longer stay with the club. Bertrand became popular with the Carrow Road crowd earning him the nickname 'Plastic' in reference to the Belgian singer Plastic Bertrand. On 4 July 2008, he rejoined the club on loan until January 2009, with an option to extend to the end of the season.