Ryan Bertrand completes free transfer to Leicester from Southampton

Ryan Bertrand has signed a two-year deal with Leicester to become Brendan Rodgers’ third capture of the summer.

The former England defender was a free agent after allowing his contract at Southampton to expire and Leicester have won the race for the left-back, who turns 32 next month.

Rodgers identified Bertrand – who he coached at reserve and youth level at Chelsea – as the experienced full-back he needs to compete with youngster Luke Thomas.

James Justin, who can also play in that position, is recovering from a serious knee injury while Christian Fuchs departed at the end of last season.

Leicester have already signed midfielder Boubakary Soumare, a long-term target, from Lille for £23m, as well as forward Patson Daka from Red Bull Salzburg for a similar fee.

The Foxes have trimmed their wage bill since the end of last term with Fuchs leaving the club along with Wes Morgan, captain of the Premier League title-winning side of 2016.

But they remain determined to keep midfielder Youri Tielemans, whose outstanding form last term attracted attention from across Europe.

The Belgium international scored the only goal in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea and reports in his home country indicate he would be open to changing clubs this summer, though it is unlikely any would offer enough to interest Leicester, who extracted £80m from Manchester United for Harry Maguire and £50m from Chelsea for Ben Chilwell.

As revealed by Sportsmail in June, playmaker James Maddison remains a prominent target for Arsenal.