Crossword Genius

King of Mercia once listened to proposal (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

offa

'king of mercia once' is the definition.
(8th-century king of Mercia)

'listened to proposal' is the wordplay.
'listened to' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'proposal' becomes 'offer' (I've seen this before).
'offer' is a homophone of 'OFFA'.

(Other definitions for offa that I've seen before include "King of Mercia, who constructed earthwork on his Welsh border" , "Mercian dykemaker" , "Organiser of defence" , "Old Mercia king" , "Earthwork maker" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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