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Bristol Rovers have begun contract negotiations with star striker Jonson Clarke-Harris over extending his deal by a further 12 months and making him the highest-paid player at the club, Bristol Live understands.

Rovers president Wael Al Qadi, who is in Bristol on club matters and attended Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Gillingham, has started talks with the 25-year-old's representatives and both parties are optimistic a deal can be struck.

Clarke-Harris has only been with the Gas since January after signing from Coventry City but was a major, if not defining, reason why the club maintained their League One status, scoring 11 goals in 16 League One games, and he's continued that form this term.

So far this season, the No9 has five goals in eight matches - one every 119.6 minutes - and is not even yet considered fully match fit having missed the entire summer pre-season programme due to a pelvis injury.

Indeed, Clarke-Harris 119.5 minutes per goal from the 2018/19 campaign is better than every one of Rovers' top scorers in the last 10 seasons including Rickie Lambert in 2008/09 (135.3) and Matty Taylor in 2015/16 (124.6) and 2016/17 (131.1).

He has two years remaining on his deal at the Mem but the club's motivation is two-fold: to reward the striker for his performances by matching his status in the squad with a higher salary, and to further protect their star asset.

Such has been the impact of Clarke-Harris in League One, scouts from Championship-level clubs have kept a constant check on his performances with Hull City, Reading and Wigan particular admirers.

Hull made tentative enquiries over Clarke-Harris availability in the summer, without making a formal bid, but Bristol Live understands they were only willing to pay £450,000, which falls well short of Rovers' valuation.

Being under contract until the summer of 2022 won't necessarily deter any potential suitors but will ensure that should there be any bids forthcoming, clubs will have to pay the absolute maximum for a top-level League One striker, theoretically, still to hit his peak.

(Image: Dougie Allward/JMP)

As for the player, Clarke-Harris is said to be settled in Bristol and is revelling in his role as the team's No1 attacking option.

It's a position he's never really been in consistently since breaking through as a teenager at Coventry City; often pushed to the wing with a series managers unsure exactly what his best position is.

But Graham Coughlan has used him as the focal point of his attack and given him a sense of freedom in the side, with the results speaking for themselves.

Clarke-Harris' attributes go far beyond his goalscoring as such is his physical strength he constantly occupies defenders, making space for others, and as League One's most fouled player (33) regularly wins free-kicks to help ease pressure on his team.