BIRMINGHAM City boss Gary Rowett has begun talks with Lukas Jutkiewicz as he seeks to persuade the on-loan Burnley striker to make a permanent move to St Andrew's in January.

The Lancashire Telegraph understands the Blues must activate the clause with the Clarets by the end of December, with the agreed fee believed to be £1million.

The 27-year-old has made a strong impression with Birmingham since joining on a temporary basis in August and he has now scored five goals for the club.

“I’ve had good conversations with Lukas,” Rowett said.

“He’s at a point in his career where he wants to settle down a little bit and wants to get that run of games that he’s probably not had for a while - and wants to be in the right environment where he thinks he can score goals.

“I’ve got to try and convince him that this is the right environment.

“I think he’s enjoyed it but I don’t think any player can commit 100 per cent that they’ll definitely sign for us because you don’t know what’s out there and what opportunities he might have.

“There might be a Premier League club come in, or Burnley might turn round and say ‘You can come back into our team’. We don’t know.

“But what I can say is he’s open to those discussions. We’ve started that process now."

Rowett has been delighted with the form Jutkiewicz has shown in the Midlands.

“I’ve been really pleased with him," he said. "He’s an intelligent lad and you can sit him in the office, like I have done a couple of times - and have a good discussion about where he sees us as a team and what we need to do to improve as well because he’s played at a team that’s won promotion.

“I’m hopeful he would see us as a good step in his career for his next move if that’s what he decides to do.

“But he’s Burnley’s player and I’m grateful to Sean [Dyche] that they’ve let us have him on loan and if he helps us short-term then fantastic. If we get an opportunity for him to help us long-term then I would be really pleased, but only time will give us an answer to that.”