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Chelsea are being linked with a summer move for Derby County midfielder Max Bird, who played under Frank Lampard when he was in charge of the Championship side.
The 19 year old midfielder, who came through the academy system at Derby, was given his first-team debut by Lampard, and he has since gone on to make 27 appearances for them.
In his younger days he played further up the pitch and was a regular goal scorer, but has been deployed in a more defensive role by Lampard’s successor Phillip Cocu, and has begun to form an effective partnership with former England captain Wayne Rooney.
During their time at Derby, Bird impressed both Lampard and assistant manager Jody Morris, and also knows well both Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori from their spell on loan with the club last season.
Derby have informed Chelsea that they want at least £5 million for Bird.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.