Nigel Clough will be given the chance today to take his first steps towards forging a family dynasty as manager of struggling Derby County. The appointment of Clough — his father, Brian, took the club from the second tier of English football to become league champions and European Cup semi-finalists more than three decades ago — is expected to be announced within 48 hours, after contract formalities have been completed.

Clough’s departure was signalled after Burton Albion, where he has been in charge for a decade, first as player-manager, gave Adam Pearson, Derby’s chairman of football, permission to make an approach.

Pearson said last night: “There is a lot of conjecture about Nigel Clough and he is definitely one that we are looking at. We are looking long-term for the right person to take this club forward.” Derby have also made inquiries about another son of a famous man, Darren Ferguson, the Peterborough United manager, whose father is Sir Alex Ferguson, and the names of Gary Speed, the former Leeds United and Everton midfield player, and Dean Saunders, the Wrexham manager, have also been in the frame to take over from Paul Jewell, who walked out last month. The only other contender is Chris Hutchings, the caretaker manager, who will take charge for the Carling Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester United tomorrow night.

But the signs are that Pearson wants a new start for a club who were relegated last season with the lowest-ever Premier League points total of 11 and are now eighteenth in the Coca-Cola Championship.

Times Archive, 1972: Clough an individual within the system

The fearless Derby manager's reputation for controversy does him little justice

• Power shifts to Derby County

• Clough and Taylor resign from Derby

Related Links

• Hutchings can get in frame for Derby

• Davies aims to win over doubters at City Ground

“There is an element of risk to turn to a manager with no experience at this level,” Pearson said. “We feel we have a squad of players that is underperforming and needs a man-management style of confidence and belief building in them. The club is at the right time for a younger, bright manager to come in and shape the squad and shape the club, who understands this club, wants to take it forward and create his own legacy.” Clough ticks all the boxes. The legacy demanded by Pearson, once again under the Clough name, would excite fans not just in Derby but all over the country.

Brian Clough was football’s most celebrated maverick manager. He joined Derby in 1967 from Hartlepool United and, a year later, Derby were promoted to the former First Division. They won the title in 1972 and reached the semi-finals of the European Cup the next year, beaten by Juventus amid uproar over allegations of match-fixing.

In spite of Clough’s departure from the club after a row with the board, he remained a hero to Derby fans. When he died in 2004, aged 69, the memorial service had to be held at Pride Park to accommodate 14,000 mourners.

Clough Jr’s approach will be much more low-key. The 42-year-old has taken Burton 13 points clear at the top of the Blue Square Premier. He has resisted offers from other clubs, happy to serve his apprenticeship out of the spotlight, but the lure of Derby — and the chance to write another chapter in the Clough family’s footballing history — could prove too great to resist.