Derby County are keen to have the future of manager Frank Lampard confirmed by the end of this week, The Daily Telegraph have reported.

The Rams are readying themselves for an official approach from Chelsea for Lampard, with the Stamford Bridge club keen to bring their all time record goalscorer back to the club to take over from Maurizio Sarri as manager, following the Italian's return to his home country to take over as manager of Juventus.

Lampard guided the club to the Championship play-off final during his first campaign as a manager last season, and Derby are said to be willing to offer him a new contract in an attempt to keep him at Pride Park, although they do not want speculation around his future to affect their preparations for next season when the squad return for pre-season training next week.

It has been claimed that although they have been approached by parties interested in taking over from Lampard at Pride Park, the club are unable to make any moves until they have had any form of confirmation around their current manager's future.

There is also said to be concern that the rumours around Lampard could affect any permanent or loan signings the club look to make in the summer transfer window.

It is thought that Derby will demand £4million in compensation for Lampard from Chelsea, a fee which could rise with Lampard's assistant Jody Morris and fitness coach Chris Jones expected to join him at Stamford Bridge.

The verdict

This isn't a good situation for Derby, and you can understand why they want it sorted as quickly as possible.

While it seems likely that Lampard will be at Stamford Bridge by the time the season starts in August, it is hard for Derby to start putting any plans in place for their own campaign until that is confirmed for certain.

As Derby are stalling, a number of their rivals are already preparing for next season and putting the foundations in place for new signings, which could leave The Rams playing catch up when sooner rather than later.

Lampard's departure looks set to be a big enough blow as it is, and it is evident that the impact a delay in that departure will only serve to make things worse for the club.