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Derby County are preparing to offer Liam Bridcutt an escape route from Wearside.

Bridcutt has made just 19 Premier League starts since joining Sunderland from Brighton & Hove Albion in January last year, with Lee Cattermole having firmly established himself in the role of holding midfielder.

And while Bridcutt was a favourite of former Black Cats boss Gus Poyet – who worked with him at Brighton and brought him to the North East – the 26-year-old has started only one game since Dick Advocaat took charge in March.

Bridcutt has struggled to make the step up to Premier League level, and is likely to find himself used only as a squad player next season if he stays at Sunderland.

And he may well prefer the chance to play regular first-team football in the Championship with Derby.

Sunderland paid £2.5m for Bridcutt but would almost certainly cut their losses and accept £2m for the former Chelsea trainee.

Derby spent much of last season competing for an automatic promotion spot under Steve McClaren, but they dipped alarmingly towards the end and did not even make the play-offs – a failure that cost McClaren his job.

But new coach Paul Clement has already signed half-a-dozen players as the Rams regroup and prepare to make another promotion push.