Ashley Cole poised to be reunited with Frank Lampard at Derby County

A move Marcelo Bielsa probably knew about last Thursday...

Former England international Ashley Cole looks set to make a return to English football with Derby County. Cole, now 38, has been without a club since leaving Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of the Major League Soccer season in October, and is expected to join Derby to provide cover at left-back. Manager Frank Lampard, Cole's former teammate at Chelsea and with the national team, is said to have lined up a deal for him before Christmas. According to the Telegraph, it now seems the signing will be completed. Cole has not played for an English club since he left Chelsea for Roma in 2014. That move brought to a close an eight-year stint at Stamford Bridge, where he moved from Arsenal in 2006. The defender, who is said to have been keeping himself in shape since leaving the Galaxy, last played in the second tier in English football 19 years ago, when he spent part of the 1999/2000 season on loan from Arsenal at Crystal Palace. Derby progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup after a penalty shootout win over Southampton on Wednesday night. They currently sit sixth in the Championship after losing to leaders Leeds United last Friday - a game overshadowed by the fallout from the 'spygate' incident with Marcelo Bielsa.