BIRMINGHAM boss Steve Bruce has been told to up the ante if he wants to land Blackburn defender Martin Taylor.

Bruce has confirmed that he has made a bid for Taylor, which is believed to be in the region of £1.5 million.

However, Rovers have rejected that initial offer and told City to meet their £2 million asking price or forget about taking the 24-year-old to St Andrew's.

Bruce's defensive resources have been stretched to the limit in recent weeks following injuries to key players such as Matthew Upson, Jamie Clapham and even emergency left-back Stan Lazaridis.

Darren Purse has proved to be an excellent deputy for Upson alongside skipper Kenny Cunningham.

But Taylor's ability to operate in several positions would give Bruce the kind of cover he is craving at the back.

"Darren Purse has done a fantastic job but the one thing about Martin Taylor is that he is so versatile," said Bruce.

"He can play centre-half, left-back, right-back and I have seen him play in all those positions and do well. It is that versatility that appeals to me big time.

"What I am trying to do is protect us if we get six or seven injuries by having players who are versatile, building a squad of players, making sure we don't stand still."

Bruce must now decide whether to go back in with an improved offer for the defender, who would be allowed to leave Rovers if City met their valuation.

But as I understand it, the Blues boss is also keen on Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt and would not be able to afford to do deals for both.

In the meantime, Blackburn target Brian McBride looks set to sign for Fulham today.

The Cottagers have now confirmed that Louis Saha will be joining Manchester United later this week.

And Fulham chief Chris Coleman will attempt to offset Saha's loss by recruiting 31-year Columbus Crew striker McBride, who scored four times in eight Barclaycard Premiership outings for Everton last season.

The American had been close to clinching a £600,000 move to Rovers before Fulham stepped in to hijack the deal.

Coleman now expects the striker to arrive in London today for talks.

"Obviously, the chairman is going to give me some money to spend," said Coleman.

"I've got two weeks left and I was conscious of not trying to bring in a big-name striker in this window because I thought that would fuel speculation about replacing Louis, and that's what I didn't want to do.

"Of course, I've got one or two players in mind, but getting them is two different things. "I'll try and as we speak, we'll have one arriving today - but I'd still like to get another one in.

"But like I said, wanting something and getting it is two different things, and if I have to go with what I've got, I'll go with what I've got."

Meanwhile, former Italy international Dino Baggio has agreed to join Serie A strugglers Ancona.

The midfielder returns to Italian football after a disappointing spell with Rovers, where he struggled to make an impression in the first team.

Baggio, now 32, had joined Blackburn on a season-long loan from Lazio in August, but the second half of that spell will now be spent with Ancona.

Baggio, who only started one game for Rovers, will wear the number eight shirt and could make his Ancona debut at AC Milan this weekend.

They have yet to win at the midway point of the Italian season and have earned just five points from 17 matches.

As we reported yesterday, Rovers have enquired about Middlesbrough's young winger, Stuart Downing, but were told the 19-year-old is not for sale.