Roy Hodgson: I snubbed Marlon King after learning he was a jailbird

Roy Hodgson last night revealed Fulham pulled out of a £4 million deal to sign sex attacker Marlon King when they discovered he had served a prison sentence.

And he took a swipe at King’s agent Tony Finnigan, questioning his moral values.

King’s proposed move to Craven Cottage from Watford in January 2008 collapsed at the 11th hour, ostensibly over a discrepancy over his medical.

But Fulham boss Hodgson admitted the club had a “lucky escape“ because owner Mohamed Al Fayed pulled the plug on the transfer because of King’s criminal record - which included serving five months behind bars in 2002 for driving a stolen £30,000 BMW.

And as he reflected on Fulham’s aborted move for the Jamaican international, Hodgson admitted: “I think we got lucky in that we didn’t sign him.

“I had only just come to the club and I didn’t know the player. All I knew about him was his goalscoring record an the information I was able to gather, which was not sufficiently detailed.

“There was a problem with the medical and it also became a problem when we found out he had a jail sentence.

“Our owner Mr Al Fayed was not at all keen on that so the transfer was allowed to collapse and he went to Wigan instead.”

Hodgson also reserved an icy blast for Finnigan, who was bullish about his client’s chances of finding a new club when he had served his 18-month sentence for groping a student in a nightclub and then breaking her nose when she spurned his advances.

Finnigan says he is “110 per cent certain“ a club would sign King, but Hodgson warned Fulham would never dream of reviving their interest.

He said: “Marlon’s agent is fairly clear on the subject and he has a very cynical view. He believes there is no moral judgement in football and the fact the person we’re talking about will score goals will blot any moral values people have.

“I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know he won’t be signed by Fulham. The owner of our club would not embrace that type of signing and I as a manager would not embrace it, either.”

 King’s first stint in prison interrupted what was a successful spell at Gillingham, where he moved after beginning his professional career at Barnet.

 The Gills gave King another chance following his jail term and he went on to earn a move to Nottingham Forest.

Perhaps the highlight of his career was helping Watford gain promotion in 2005-6 and performing well in his first Premier League season, showing good pace and finishing ability in a campaign hampered by injury.

After relegation with Watford, though, he could not replicate his success at Wigan, nor during loan spells at Hull and Boro.

He has also courted controversy in an international career with Jamaica, earning a ban, later overturned, for an alleged breach of discipline in 2006.