Howard Walker, Staff Reporter
( L - R ) KING AND BURTON
JAMAICAN STRIKERS Marlon King and Deon Burton have switched clubs in the January transfer window, joining Watford and Sheffield Wednesday respectively.
King 25, on loan to Championship outfit Watford from the start of the season, made the move permanent by putting pen to paper in a £500,000 (J$57.2m) deal in January.
King has been a big hit at Watford since moving there on loan at the start of the season, scoring 12 goals.
Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd said on the club's website that "Marlon is an important part of the platform we are building at Vicarage Road. I am pleased with the progress he has made at the club in a short time."
SEASON-LONG LOAN
King was originally captured on a season-long loan after failing to hit the mark at Nottingham Forrest, a club playing one league below Watford in the League One division, after a £950,000 move from Gillingham in November 2003.
King, who was Jamaica's leading scorer in the failed 2006 World Cup campaign with six goals, was on loan to Leeds at the end of last season where he met Boothroyd after falling out with Forest manager Gary Megson.
He started his career at Barnet and told Watford web site that he was delighted to have tied up the formalities with Boothroyd and the Watford board.
"The manager has had a tremendous influence on me and is the best manager I have ever worked with. Under his guidance, I know I can become an even better player," said King, who leads the Championship scoring chart and has helped the Hornets to fourth in the table.
1998 WORLD CUP HERO
Meanwhile Deon Burton, the hero of Jamaica's successful 1998 World Cup campaign, has joined Championship team Sheffield Wednesday from League One strugglers Rotherham after putting in a transfer request for £110,000 (J$12.5m).
Burton, 29, a former Portsmouth and Derby striker, is Rotherdam's leading scorer with 14 goals this season after arriving from Brentford during the summer on a free transfer.
In addition to three spells at Portmouth, Burton has also previously played for Cardiff, Barnsley, Stoke, Walsall and Swindon.
