Fulham are poised to launch an audacious bid to pip Birmingham to the permanent signing of Burnley striker Lucas Jutkiewicz, according to the Daily Mirror.

Jutkiewicz has scored six goals in seventeen appearances during a successful loan spell at St. Andrew’s and the 6ft 1in forward had talked positively about the prospect of making his move from Turf Moor permanent in the new year. But that was before the abrupt sacking of popular manager Gary Rowett shocked the Blues squad, something which Jutkiewicz revealed in an interview with the Birmingham Mail over the weekend.

New Birmingham boss Gianfranco Zola remains keen on signing Jutkiewicz on a full-time basis when the transfer window reopens, but he may have competition from several Championship rivals. One of those will be Fulham, who are keen to supplement Slavisa Jokanovic’s striking options in January, as he currently has only on-loan Chris Martin, Matt Smith, Cauley Woodrow and in-form youth team forward Stevie Humphrys to select from.

Jutkiewicz made his name helping Swindon Town win promotion to League One in 2007 and enjoyed some success north of the border with Motherwell, scoring twelve goals in a profitable loan spell. He scored eighteen goals in 59 league starts for Coventry City, before a £1.3m move to Middlesbrough, saw him notch sixteen goals in 60 starts during an injury-ravaged period on Teesside. Jutkiewicz was a firm favourite with the Bolton fans as he scored seven times in 20 appearances, but struggled to obtain regular game time having completed a move to Burnley, who are looking to offload the 27 year-old in the new year.