Derby County have appointed Nigel Pearson as their new manager on a three-year deal.

The 52-year-old has been out of work since leaving Leicester City at the end of the 2014-15 season, having steered them to Premier League survival following their promotion from the Championship.

Derby sacked Paul Clement in February and saw out the 2015-16 campaign under Darren Wassall, who will remain at the club despite former Rams player Chris Powell coming in as Pearson's assistant.

"I am honoured to be named as the manager of Derby County, which is one of the biggest clubs in the country, a club in excellent shape and one with strong ambitions. It is firmly focused on achieving Premier League football," Pearson told the club's official website.

"I will give absolutely everything I have to this role and do all I can to bring exciting, entertaining and winning football which our supporters can be proud of."

Chairman Mel Morris added: "We are delighted to welcome Nigel to the club. He is a proven winner, a highly experienced manager who has track record of success in the Championship and has also coached successfully in the Premier League. Following the culmination of the season, we conducted a full review of all playing matters and began our recruitment process.

"This structured approach has provided us with the opportunity to consider all options and I am grateful to all those managers who were interested in coming to Derby County. We believe Nigel is the perfect appointment and will build on the solid progress we have made in recent seasons but more importantly, will enable us to achieve our long-term objective of Premier League football.

"It is also great to have Chris Powell back at the football club as our assistant manager. Chris is a top quality coach and gave us excellent service as a player. He will join Kevin Phillips and Pascal Zuberbuhler in the first-team coaching set-up.

"I would like to place on record our thanks for the dedication and commitment Darren Wassall and his coaching staff have shown since taking over first team duties in February. His initial remit was to improve team performance and ensure the club qualified for the end of season playoffs."

Derby finished fifth in the Championship table this season, but lost out to Hull City in the playoff semi-finals.