Head Coach debutant, Paul Clement, has been linked with a move for former player Liam Bridcutt in a £2m deal, according to reports.

The Sunderland man was a youth team player at Chelsea during Clement's time there as a coach, and it is believed that the new Derby County boss is keen to link up with his former player.

Bridcutt made 30 Premier League appearances for The Black Cats last season, including 19 starts. Though the midfielder's Sunderland future remains unclear as Dick Advocaat looks to reshape his squad ahead of the new campaign.

26-year-old Bridcutt signed his first professional contract at Chelsea in the summer of 2007 after developing through the youth system at Stamford Bridge.

He was then loaned out to Yeovil Town in 2008 before spending loan spells at Watford and Stockport County.

Brighton helped Bridcutt showcase his potential

Having failed to make a senior appearance for Chelsea, he left the London side to sign an initial five-month contract at Brighton & Hove Albion. After impressing head coach Gus Poyet, Bridcutt signed a permanent contract with the club in 2010.

He went on to make 132 appearances for The Seagulls, including back-to-back Player of the Season awards, the first in Brighton's promotion campaign during the 2011-12 season.

Following Poyet's departure from the AMEX Stadium to join Premier League club Sunderland, Bridcutt followed in his boss' footsteps. He signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the North-East side, for whom he made his debut for in a 3-0 victory over Newcastle United at St. James' Park in February 2014.

In 2013 Bridcutt was named in Gordon Strachan's Scotland squad for their 2014 World Cup qualification matches against Wales and Serbia. Having qualified to play for the national side through his grand-father, he earned his first cap in the game against Serbia on 26th March 2013.

Clement revamping Derby early on

Should the Reading-born defensive midfielder sign for The Rams, he will become Paul Clement's sixth signing already this summer having already secured deals for former England internationals Darren Bent and Scott Carson.

He will also join the £2m signing Andreas Weimann from Aston Villa, Northern Ireland international Chris Baird, who joined on a free, and former Reading skipper Alex Pearce.