BLACKBURN Rovers are facing a tug of war with Birmingham City over the signing of Leicester City striker Paul Dickov.

Rovers boss Graeme Souness wants to sign the Scotland international in a cut-price deal, as we revealed in our later editions last night.

But sources in Leicester claim Dickov is due to speak with Birmingham today and Blues boss Steve Bruce will look to steal a march over his Premier League rivals.

News of Souness's interest in the striker first emerged last night and I can reveal that Rovers have already spoken to Leicester about the possibility of triggering the release clause in Dickov's contract.

Now the club are hoping to set up talks with the player himself later this week but the fact Bruce is likely to get first bite at the cherry must be a cause for concern for Souness.

"We are interested in signing Paul Dickov," said Rovers' chief executive, John Williams.

"I've spoken to Leicester and I'm hoping to set up a meeting with the player for later this week."

Although Dickov still has several years left to run on his current contract with the Foxes, he has a relegation release clause which allows him to speak to other clubs if they bid a certain amount.

A certain degree of mystery surrounds the exact size of that fee, with some sources claiming it's £75,000 while others seem to think it might be double that.

However, a clutch of clubs would appear to be interested in the former Manchester City star as West Brom, Portsmouth and Norwich have also been linked with him since the end of the season.

Dickov is likely to speak to all interested parties before making a final decision on his future but the fact he still owns property in the North West may yet work in Rovers' favour.

In the meantime, Rovers are still in talks with Tugay over a new contract.

As I understand it, the club have offered the Turk a one year deal but he's thought to be holding out for two.

Several other clubs are also on the trail of the former Rangers star -- one in the Premiership and one back in his native Turkey.

But Rovers are still hopeful of reaching an agreement with the 33-year-old.

"I had several conversations with his people yesterday and they are now considering our position," added Williams.