Derby are close to an agreement with Phillip Cocu to make him the managerial successor to the Chelsea-bound Frank Lampard. The Derby players expect the Dutchman to be appointed – he has been discussed within their ranks – and it would be a move to excite them.
Cocu, like Lampard, enjoyed a fine playing career, during which he represented PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona while winning 101 caps for the Netherlands, and he would command the respect of the dressing room.
Mel Morris, the Derby owner, reasoned that the same would be true when he appointed Lampard last summer and he was delighted with how that played out. The Derby players greatly enjoyed working for Lampard, whose professionalism they held in the highest regard.
Morris has not stood in Lampard’s way as the former Chelsea favourite closes on a return to Stamford Bridge. He has cast the net for a replacement, not wanting to sign off on Lampard’s release until he has one, and Cocu is edging closer.
Cocu, 48, made the move into management as a youth coach at PSV and as an assistant with the Netherlands. He stepped up to become the PSV manager in 2013 having previously held the position on a caretaker basis, and he won the league title three times in five years.
He placed an emphasis on the development of players from the academy – something that appeals to Morris. Cocu is a free agent having left Fenerbahce last October after a short and unsuccessful spell.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has agreed a new long-term contract at Chelsea worth more than £150,000 a week, a deal which better reflects his enhanced status at the club. The England midfielder, who is in rehabilitation after rupturing an achilles in May, had two years to run on his £60,000-a-week deal but will commit his future to the club having made an eye-catching impact last term.
The 23-year-old, who scored 10 goals last season, should be closely followed by Callum Hudson-Odoi, who is expected to sign a new five-year contract as he steps up his own recovery from an achilles injury. Reece James, so impressive on loan at Wigan in the Championship last year, could also earn new terms as Lampard’s appointment should be confirmed in the next 24 hours.
