Nigel Pearson 'makes contact with Derby County' over vacant manager job

Pearson has been out of work since leaving Leicester in June 2015

Nigel Pearson celebrates promotion to the Premier League with Leicester City (Getty)

Derby County have reportedly been made aware of former Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson’s interest in replacing Paul Clement at the iPro Stadium.

The Rams dismissed the former Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid coach on Monday night with the East Midlands club currently just six points adrift of Championship leaders Middlesbrough.

Clement endured a six game winless stretch before his sacking but Derby chairman Mel Morris insists the decision was made based on a failure to adhere to ‘the Derby way’ rather than an unhappiness with results.

There remains no suggestion that Derby are looking for a new manager straight away, however, with the club insisting Darren Wassall, the interim manager promoted from the academy, will remain in charge until the end of the season.

Pearson has been out of work since leaving Leicester in June 2015 after ‘fundamental differences in perspective’ developed between the manager and boardroom at the King Power Stadium.

Across two spells with Derby’s East Midlands rivals, the 52-year-old lifted the League One and Championship titles before preserving their Premier League status in his final season.

Pearson is also credited with a role in Leicester’s title-challenging exploits this season under his replacement Claudio Ranieri.

The former Southampton and Hull City boss remains the bookies’ favourite to replace Clement at Derby despite Morris’s insistence that Wassall will remain in charge until May.

Sky Sports are reporting this afternoon that contact has been made between the two parties but it is believed Derby are yet to formulate a shortlist.