John Terry Agrees to Take Pay Cut & Join Derby County Following Close Friend Lampard's Appointment
New Derby County manager Frank Lampard is looking to strengthen his team with the signing of his former Chelsea captain John Terry.
A report from the Daily Star claims that the two Chelsea legends are set for a reunion at Derby Country, after Lampard convinced Terry to join him for another push for promotion. Terry recently left Aston Villa, choosing not to renew his contract as his side failed to overcome Fulham in the Championship play off final.
After being announced as the new manager of Derby, Lampard was immediately asked about a potential reunion with Terry, as the two have remained very close friends since leaving Chelsea.
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Lampard, speaking at Derby County's official press conference, responded: “I had conversations with him this season about how he was getting on and about the Championship.
"He will definitely be there for me. We are close.”
The 37-year-old centre back made 36 appearances for Aston Villa in all competitions last season, taking over as captain of the side and guiding the team to the final. He was reportedly earning £60,000-a-week at Aston Villa, but will be taking a huge pay cut if he joins Derby.
Derby have a tight wage budget, paying their top players around half of what Terry was earning at Aston Villa. Derby owner Mel Morris confirmed that the club will be looking to cut costs in order to appease UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations.
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Speaking to Rams TV, Morris said: “It’s impossible to spend at the level we have year after year after year. Financial Fair Play is very real, we take it very seriously, and we’ve even been a big advocate of FFP.
“So it’s time to bring our house in order in that regard. But as Frank has said, it’s time to try to look at doing that while seeing if we can progress at the same time.
“We understand there are blips, there will be problems and there will be challenges that come along. We’ve got to be patient with that, and so have the fans, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be ambitious.”
Derby finished 6th in the Championship last season, and will hoping that Lampard can finally guide Derby to the Premier League for the first time since the 2007/08 season.
