Source: FOOTYMAD
Birmingham City add twist to King saga
Blues in bid to snatch striker from Coventry In yet another twist, which will undoubtedly further irritate the long suffering Coventry City fans, there are murmurings that Birmingham City are about to launch a bid to lure Marlon King to St Andrews. Coventry City announced last week that King had told both manager Andy Thorn and chairman Ken Dulieu that he had decided to accept the terms on offer and that he would sign the contract when all parties returned to the club after the summer break. The news, which delighted most City supporters, was later thrown into confusion when King's agent Tony Finnigan said, “I can confirm Marlon King has not committed his future to anyone and is continuing talks regarding his future.” Andy Thorn and chairman Ken Dulieu had both publicly said that King had verbally agreed to stay at Coventry City, but then Finnigan dropped the bombshell that it was on King's own instructions that he refuted the club's claims and asked him to make the statement. However Coventry City are adamant that King has verbally ag“Coventry City wish to state that they have had a double verbal agreement that Marlon King will be a Sky Blues player next season." “Chairman Ken Dulieu has a verbal confirmation from Marlon’s friend and adviser while the player has also told manager Andy Thorn that he is looking forward to next season at the Ricoh Arena and is delighted to remain with the club." “The formalities of the deal will be concluded when Marlon returns from his summer holiday and we hope he will be a key member of Andy’s squad for the coming season. The club is aware of reports to the contrary but they are either ill-informed or inaccurate.” Just where the stories suggesting Birmingham are chasing King is unclear, but it is certain that as the side with the lowest goals tally in their relegation season, Birmingham are keen to add a proven goal scorer to their squad if they are serious in mounting a bid to win promotion back to the Premier League. The Blues certainly have the cash available as they have a £16m parachute payment pot to dip into in order to rebuild their squad as they adapt to Championship football. Coventry City have lost two other players to Birmingham City in recent times, both Gary McSheffrey and Scott Dann have left the Sky Blue of Coventry for the darker Blues of Birmingham.
