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Loan star Ryan Bertrand could make his latest escape from Chelsea permanent in January after hinting darkly that he had been shafted at Stamford Bridge.

England full-back Bertrand, a Champions League winner with the Blues in 2012, is now on his NINTH loan stint with seven different clubs.

Chelsea have a staggering 26 players out on loan and Bertrand, 25, has been a victim of the Premier League leaders hoarding young talent without establishing a pathway to regular first-team football.

Bertrand, who scored his first goal for Southampton in the weekend win over QPR, revealed in Saturday's matchday programme he had been on the wrong end of broken promises at his parent club.

(Image: Getty)

He said: “The situation became clear to me before I went on loan to Aston Villa (last season). I was getting those 15, 20, 25, 30-plus games a season, until I hit a stumbling block.

“That’s when the alarm bells rang. Before that, I had a chance to move from the club, but I was advised that I didn’t need to do that.

“It all unravelled in front of my eyes, and certain things didn’t make sense in terms of what certain people had said to me. All I ask for is honesty, and I didn’t get that.

“I wanted to be in a situation where the club is looking for the same things. In a way, me as a person and Southampton as a football club are quite similar. We’re both striving to do great things.”

Bertrand has joined the chorus line praising the Saints’ remarkable start to the season after the upheaval of the summer’s mass exodus, adding: “It’s strange just how positive it has been. It’s almost hard to believe how well the new boys have settled in.”