Derby County and other potential suitors are being put off making a move for Swansea City manager Steve Cooper due to the Welsh club demanding a seven-figure fee were he to depart the club.
The Rams are still searching for a potential successor to Phillip Cocu, and they have been linked with potential interest in the likes of Eddie Howe, Brian McDermott, Roberto Di Matteo and Nigel Adkins. While current head of the interim coaching set up Wayne Rooney has also been credited with an interest in the job.
Derby are not expected to name a successor to Cocu until the proposed takeover of the club is completed. However, one name that has also been linked with the job is Cooper who has been an impressive performer at Swansea in his first club managerial role guiding the club to the play-offs last term.
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It is thought that the former England under-17s manager has attracted interest from the Rams and other suitors, but that the Swans’ demands for a seven-figure compensation fee are putting teams off from firming up any initial interest with a concrete move to acquire his services, per The Sun, via Derbyshire Live.
The Verdict
Cooper has been an excellent manager for Swansea and he managed to guide the club to the top-six last term despite losing a bunch of key players in the form of Daniel James and Ollie McBurnie. The Englishman has installed an exciting brand of football and got the best out of a host of young and talented players.
That would make him well suited to Derby given the young talent emerging within their squad, and Cooper’s style of play would be something that would be pleasing on eye for Rams’ supporters were he to takeover.
Swansea are rightly remaining firm over their manager who is crucial to any hopes they have for another promotion bid.
If Derby do get taken over and have more money to spend then investing in Cooper could well be a wise move for the Rams. Whilst he is not the most glamorous of potential names, he does represent a promising and tactically aware manager that has already proven himself in the English second tier.