Birmingham have opened talks with Tottenham over a potential move for striker Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Blues boss Alex McLeish is targeting new strikers before the end of the transfer window and has the Russian at the top of his list as the clubs try to agree a fee.

Spurs bought Pavlyuchenko for £13.8million from Spartak Moscow in August 2008 and it is believed they are willing to accept £8million up front plus add-ons which would take the overall fee up to about £13million.

Cashed-up City are hoping they can strike a deal soon as the transfer window comes to a close but rejected the chance to take Jermaine Jenas as part of the deal as McLeish feels his midfield is strong enough.