NEWPORT County AFC's season may have been stopped in its tracks by coronavirus pandemic but Argus readers still get their annual chance to honour their top performer.

With 10 games left to play in their League Two campaign, voting is open for the Exiles' player of the year and six of Michael Flynn's squad are in the running for the award.

Left-back Ryan Haynes, utility man Scot Bennett, midfielders Josh Sheehan and Joss Labadie, striker Padraig Amond and goalkeeper Tom King are the candidates after strong campaigns for the club.

In the coming days we will give the lowdown on those who could land the honour, which was won last season by Irish forward Amond. Today's nominee is TOM KING…

South Wales Argus:

The stopper arrived on a two-year contract from Millwall last summer after the departure of Joe Day, who moved to Cardiff City on a free transfer.

The 25-year-old has established himself as the number 1, making a remarkable start to life at Rodney Parade.

King, who had previously been on loan at Welling United, Braintree Town, Stevenage and AFC Wimbledon, was nominated for League Two's player of the month award for August after recording five successive clean sheets.

That form continued as County's mean defence was the foundation for an impressive start to the campaign and it led to the Plymouth-born keeper getting a huge accolade.

In November King, who has a Welsh mother, was given a first international call-up for the crunch Euro 2020 qualifiers against Azerbaijan Hungary - the first Exiles player to get the honour since 1983.

"I had a call from an unknown number and to hear Ryan Giggs on the other end was obviously a big surprise," he said.

"I asked the gaffer (Flynn) afterwards and he said he wanted Giggs to be the one to tell me.

"I thought it was going to be someone trying to sell me something but fortunately it was probably one of the best left wingers ever to play the game and the current Welsh manager, so it is not every Thursday night you get that kind of phone call!"

King remains uncapped but settled in with the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.

"There was no being star struck, as soon as you step on that white line you are there to do a job, you are not there to stare at the mega superstars in the squad. I took that on board and the coaches and the staff were great with me."

South Wales Argus:

King now has Euro 2021 to aim for and County will look for their keeper to keep hitting the heights that led to so many opponents having nil next to their name at the start of his career in Wales.

"He had big gloves to fill in replacing Day but he started the season incredibly," said Argus football writer Andrew Penman.

"The stats were incredible with so many clean sheets at the start of the season and for someone to force their way into the Wales squad from the fourth tier is a great achievement that doesn't happen very often.

"He caught the eye people in high places and apparently Ryan Giggs was impressed with him in the Wales camp.

"His form might have dipped along with the team but King is still one of the best keepers in the league."

Vote for your County player of the year: HERE