This piece is from yesterday's David Irvine on St Mirren newsletter, which is emailed out at 6pm every Thursday. To receive our full, free St Mirren newsletter straight to your email inbox, click here.
Richard King is poised to become St Mirren's second signing of the summer transfer window.
The highly-rated Jamaican internationalist, 23, will make the move to Paisley from Cavalier in his homeland.
A nominal fee was agreed with the club, with a sell-on included, with King having signed a two-year deal with St Mirren holding the option for a third season.
The transfer deal is thought to be concluded with only formalities to be finalised before the club announce their latest transfer signing, following Roland Idowu's move from Shrewsbury.
A work permit hearing for King, which is not expected to cause any major concern, is expected to take place before the end of the week.
The summer transfer window will officially open on Monday, June 16. As yet, It is unclear when King's deal will be announced other than following the work permit hearing and decision.
King is a player who has been backed to become a major success in football with St Mirren his first step, and anticipation he could make a serious impact in Paisley.
The defender, who is comfortable on the ball and possesses the physical attributes to compete in Scotland, is thought to be excited by the prospect of playing in the fast-paced Scottish Premiership.
After Richard Taylor's departure, St Mirren needed a replacement with King a near-perfect solution. He's willing to carry the ball forward, capable in physical duels and in a foot race and has taken penalties previously, for club and country.
While right-footed, he has regularly been deployed on the left-side of defence without issue, so could be slotted into St Mirren's back three there is Alex Iacovitti is not in the line-up as a natural left-footer.
King captained Cavalier to the league title in his homeland and played against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami in the Champions Cup.
The defender had a goal disallowed over the two-legged tie as Miami won 2-0 home and away.
King's Cavalier side are hopeful of a number of their first-team players making a move to Europe and the UK and raising the profile of the market in Jamaica.
The defender had been checked out by a number of clubs in the UK in recent months, with King recommended to Rangers as a transfer option in January before English sides watched footage.
St Mirren, though, stole a march to sign the stopper after acting quickly upon discovering his availability.
The club were alerted of the defender and quickly completed research before putting together a transfer offer to land King on a permanent basis.
Read more:
- Richard King to join St Mirren in Stephen Robinson transfer coup
- Paulsen to St Mirren truth amid Hemming transfer return talks
It's understood negotiations were swift for St Mirren to complete a deal rather than risk being gazumped with cash-rich Premier League clubs also credited with an interest in King and monitoring his progress.
Jamaica manager Steve McClaren passionately discussed his ambition for King to make a move out of the Jamaican leagues as he tipped the player to handle a move overseas.
The player himself is thought to be eager to make the switch with St Mirren viewed as the best fit for him right now with advisors keen to emphasise the platform at St Mirren, alongside the credibility of the club in developing players and achieving success under Stephen Robinson.
It's understood King could quite easily have held out for a move to England to materialise this summer but would rather enjoy regular minutes and the opportunity to prove himself in Scotland.
One source had suggested King is capable of replicating a similar trajectory to Calvin Bassey.
Clearly, though, high expectations must be tempered with the defender arriving in a new country and playing in the UK for the first time.
King's only other experience in European football comes from a spell at IBV where he played alongside former St Mirren defender Elvis Bwomono.
The 23-year-old is on international duty with Jamaica until the end of the month, meaning a possible late arrival for pre-season training with the first scheduled fixture on June 28 against Dumbarton.
However, early matches in the Premier Sports Cup offer an opportunity for King to be eased into his new surroundings and ideally be up and running to take a berth in the back three for the start of the Scottish Premiership season.
Elsewhere, St Mirren are still working on a deal to land Zach Hemming from Middlesbrough.
The goalkeeper is wanted by Stephen Robinson for a return to Paisley but a decision has not yet been made by the English club.
Robinson previously suggested a two-week timeline for a final decision on any deal for the player to come back to Paisley. Hemming is thought to be keen on the move if it is sanctioned.
Bournemouth goalkeeper Alex Paulsen has been linked as an alternative target but it's understood a deal is not on the cards at the moment.
The stopper, who won players' player of the season at Auckland, is expected to move elsewhere this summer with Scotland not a preferred destination at this stage.
Ryan Alebiosu was a target for St Mirren after his loan period but it's expected he'll receive far more lucrative offers after his successful stint back in Scotland.
