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Aston Villa will attempt to make Ryan Bertrand’s loan move from Chelsea a permanent deal in the summer.

The 24-year-old defender is understood to be open to the idea of leaving Stamford Bridge to play regular first-team football for the Villans under boss Paul Lambert.

Bertrand, who has two years left on his contract with the Londoners , will sit out Saturday’s clash against his parent club at Villa Park but could join the claret and blues if the two clubs can agree a fee at the end of the season.

Bertrand said: “Paul Lambert was one of the main catalysts of me coming to this club, because he’s a manager whose teams play the way that I like to play.

“He really encourages you to express yourself on the pitch so it’s always a pleasure to play this way.

“To play with the boys has been fantastic, on and off the pitch. In training there’s a fantastic mentality from all the boys and it’s a fantastic area to learn in.”

Bertrand also believes Villa, currently in 11th position, can clinch a top 10 place this season after putting a six-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone.

“We can definitely push for the 10th spot and that’d be a really good finish,” he added.

“We don’t want to set a limit on it, we just want to win as many as we can. I think the players have shown people where the bar can be set, especially with the win over Norwich.

“It’s important to try and get the consistency. Not to necessarily match those levels equally, but to be not too far off that on a consistent basis. If we do that we’ll be able to achieve some great things.”