Jamaica's senior team coach John Barnes (centre) is flanked by captain Tyrone Marshall (right) and Nigeria's coach Amodu Shuabi. The trio were at a press briefing on the eve of today's Jamaica versus NIgeria friendly in England. - Contributed

LONDON, England:

JAMAICA'S captain and central defender, Tyrone Marshall, has been traded from Canadian Major League franchise Toronto FC to Seattle Sounders.

"I've officially moved to from Toronto to Seattle (Sounders)," Marshall told The Gleaner yesterday in London, ahead of this evening's friendly international against Nigeria in London, England. "I found that out this morning, the general manager (Mo Johnson) gave me a ring this morning, he says I'd been traded to Seattle."

Marshall added: "There was interest since the start of the season. Toronto gave in and decided they wanted to go in a different direction."

The former St George's College player who has 71 caps for Jamaica, is pleased with the deal as it takes him back to the United States.

"I wanted to move back to the States," noted the 34-year-old defender. "In terms of salary, pay-wise, and the kids, it should work out better. I think I'm being heavily taxed in Canada, so I'll get a break, so with the four kids the money will stretch more.

"They're looking to put something in place right now that they can get into the play-offs," noted Marshall of the Sounders. "The coach (Sigi Schmidt) is the MLS Cup winner last year, so he knows what it takes to build a franchise and be competitive. So, he's looking to build the franchise and get into the play-offs."

Pre-season warm-up

Marshall, who joined Toronto mid-season 2007, had an additional two years remaining on his contract and will join up with former Arsenal midfielder, Freddie Ljungberg. The Swede recently joined Seattle, which beat LA Galaxy 3-1 in a pre-season warm-up yesterday.

"Freddie Ljungberg is the big signing. I think they've a great crop of players who should be able to compete this year. I think that's why they were pursuing me so hard, they need someone with leadership, that type of experience," explained Marshall, who has gone 11 seasons in the MLS since his debut in 1998.

He has won the MLS Cup (2002, 2005) on two occasions and also the Open Cup (2005), while playing at LA Galaxy, during his distinguished career.

He admits having a "tremendous" time at Toronto and leaves with "mixed feelings".

"It was great when I was there (Toronto), I enjoyed myself tremendously. It was just a pity we never had all the tools to get over the hump and this year they've brought in new players who might be able to help."

Pointing to today's game, Marshall says he's expects the Jamaica team to play well.

"Nigeria have a mixed team, they're bringing in some players they're looking at. But having said that, they have a strong team. We're looking to have a good performance and hopefully that's good enough for the supporters here and in Jamaica. "