LONDON, February 12 – Middlesbrough striker Marlon King has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a nightclub, police said on Thursday.
King is alleged to have assaulted and punched a 20-year old woman in London’s Soho Revue Bar in December and the Jamaica international will appear before magistrates later this month.
The 28-year-old is on loan to Middlesbrough from fellow Premier League club Wigan. He is yet to score for his new club in three appearances.
King has endured a stormy season, having already left his season-long loan at Hull.
During his time at the KC Stadium, he was banned from driving after being caught speeding at 106mph in a 60mph zone, had a fall-out with Tigers boss Phil Brown and rowed with Dean Windass during an outing designed to foster team-spirit.
Meanwhile, Croatia midfielder Niko Kranjcar has added misery by admitted he is keen to leave Portsmouth at the end of the season.
Portsmouth have already lost star players Jermain Defoe and Lassana Diarra during the January transfer window and are managerless after Tony Adams was sacked earlier this week.
With the team just above the relegation zone, the last thing Pompey need is another player considering his future, but Kranjcar, who has been linked with Arsenal and Monaco, insists he would walk away from Fratton Park if a bigger club came in for him.
"It was always my intention to move to a bigger club, it is always like that in your career," Kranjcar told the Daily Mirror adding, "If an offer came from a larger club, of course I would want to go."
In the meantime, Kranjcar has no intention of giving up on Portsmouth’s battle to beat the drop and he called on his team-mates to show some fight.
"There are lots of teams in a similar situation," he said. "We know we must fight to stay up and we are ready."
