Derby’s reported January targets suggest Cocu is copying his PSV template

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Phillip Cocu won three Eredivisie titles with PSV Eindhoven but he’s yet to taste the same success in the Championship with Derby County.

You’d never ask a builder to fix a shelf with a wobbly hammer and a broken spirit level. So it feels a little unfair to demand Phillip Cocu to drag Derby County back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, especially after the Rams lost their four best players from last season; Harry Wilson, Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount and, of course, Richard Keogh.

But the upcoming January transfer window should give the under-fire Dutchman a valuable opportunity to bring in some much-needed additions and construct a side in his own tactical image.

And if reports are to be believed, it seems that Cocu is harking back to his trophy-laden spell at PSV Eindhoven in an attempt to turn his ailing fortunes around at Pride Park.

Cocu won three Eredivisie titles in five years in the PSV dugout with Luuk de Jong absolutely integral to their dominance of Dutch football. While the likes of Memphis Depay, Gini Wijnaldum and Hirving Lozano hogged the headlines and earned big-money moves to some of Europe’s biggest clubs, De Jong was the glue which held this free-flowing PSV team together.

A 6ft 2ins targetman, De Jong scored goals for fun in each of Cocu’s title-winning seasons while using his strength and link play to get the best out of the roving wingers around him.

Cocu’s sides are at their best with a physical focal point and, with reports linking Derby with three 6ft something centre-forwards, the former Barcelona ace appears to be trying to replicate De Jong’s impact at Pride Park.

TEAMtalk reports that prolific Peterborough United striker Ivan Toney is a target, as is Livingston’s Lyndon Dykes – a bullish, old-school number nine who tends to thrive in big games. 16-goal Aberdeen frontman Sam Cosgrove is also a target and he learned his trade from none other than Duncan Ferguson in Everton’s reserves.

Chris Martin has led the line for Derby of late but, for all his clever touches in the final third, he doesn’t quite have the same height or aerial prowess that Cocu tends to go for.

So if Toney, Cosgrove or Dykes arrive in January, the manager will be one step closer to turning Derby into his team.