It's a new beginning for Derby this season after it was confirmed that Darren Wassall would not remain in charge for the season after.

It was a season of what could've been as usual for Derby who missed out on promotion again, at the start of the season under Paul Clement they made some big name signings bringing in Tom Ince, Jacob Butterfield, Bradley Johnson, Jason Shackell, followed by Nick Blackman in the middle of the season who was doing well for Reading.

They were doing well in the middle of the season and were top of the league at Christmas but started to fall away after a 2-0 defeat to rivals Middlesbrough. Eventually with automatic promotion hopes gone they sacked Paul Clement and placed academy boss Darren Wassall in charge which attracted criticism from fans.

But none of the sides around took advantage of this and Derby hung on to their playoff spot quite comfortably, going on to lose to Hull over 2 legs in the semi-final.

Derby fans were frustrated and wanted changes and chairman Mel Morris responded by appointing former Leicester boss Nigel Pearson with Chris Powell as his assistant.

Here are FIVE Chelsea players they could sign on loan...

Patrick Bamford 

The young striker has had a tricky season in the Premier League failing miserably at Crystal Palace and Norwich.

But he is clearly capable of playing at Championship level which he showed at Middlesbrough the season before. His 19 goals propelled the club forward and fired them to the playoff final where they were beaten by Norwich.

His finishing was outstanding and his pace impressive as he picked up Championship Player of the Year, earning interest from Premier League sides. He has spent time on loan at Derby before so it should interest him and after a difficult season in the Premier League he may go back to familiar turf in the Championship to recapture his form.

Tomas Kalas 

Attacking has never been much of a problem at Derby as they always invest big in midfielders. Only last summer they brought in Tom Ince, Jacob Butterfield and Bradley Johnson but the former and the latter flopped affecting Derby's season.

Chris Martin dominated the scoring charts again and was excellent as always as Darren Bent failed to pull his weight and the winter signing of Nick Blackman proved a failure.

The defence is a problem with Keogh and Shackell inconsistent and they have failed to lock right back down. Kalas is a very good prospect with international appearances and Chelsea appearances and has spent the last 2 seasons on loan to high flyers Middlesbrough where he has been very impressive, and a season at Derby will help him develop further.

Nathan Ake 

The 21 year old defender is very versatile and could be another possible solution to the shaky defence at Derby.

He has plenty of experience with loan moves to Reading and started regularly for Watford in the Premier League last season whilst also being a regular for the Netherlands at youth level.

His work ethic is regularly praised with him being likened to Ruud Gullit and he possesses impressive versatility. He can play at right back, centre back and in central midfield and is an aerial threat from corners.

He is a future international and Chelsea starter and a move to Derby will help him achieve this.

Christian Atsu 

The Ghanaian winger has been disappointing for Chelsea and on his loan spells but is clearly a good prospect.

After moving to Chelsea from Porto he is yet to make a senior appearance spending all his time out on loan to twinned clubs. He spent a full season at Vitesse in Holland and made 28 appearances with 5 goals but his loan spells in England have been disappointing with both coming in the Premier League with Everton and Bournemouth.

He is a regular for Ghana with nearly 50 appearances and 10 goals but could do with a prolonged run of club football and the Premier League seems too high a step for him so a run in the Championship may suit him.

John Swift 

A player with already proven Championship pedigree is John Swift who spent last season out on loan to Chelsea's West London rivals Brentford.

It was a difficult season for the Bees but Swift was consistent as he tried to replace Pritchard and Jota and he managed 7 goals in 27 games but got plenty of assists too.

He has represented England at every youth level and is still part of the U21 setup and the 20 year old is ready for a step up, and battling for a start in the Derby team will provide him with that challenge.

Thoughts Derby fans ? Leave thoughts and opinions below.