The 23-year-old played a key role in Birmingham’s fifth successive League win.
McLeish said: “He was great tonight and I thought he was excellent.
“He is a work in progress.
“But I challenged him at the start of the season to improve and on tonight’s showing he was a fantastic centre forward in the Premier League.
“His first goal was a real poacher’s goal and the second goal was tremendous.”
He added: “I’m really proud of the players. It was a phenomenal performance and I thought we could have won by more. I thought we were fantastic tonight.”
