King previously called for a joint (4)
I believe the answer is:
knee
'a joint' is the definition.
(knee is a kind of joint)
'king previously called' is the wordplay.
'king' becomes 'k'.
'previously called' becomes 'nee' (French for 'born', used before a previous surname).
'k'+'nee'='KNEE'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for knee that I've seen before include "Hinge joint" , "Major joint in leg" , "One bent in genuflection" , "joint input" , "Wounded in Indian Wars action" .)