Newport County player of the year Paul Bignot looks set for a move to Championship club Blackpool.

The England C right-back will play for the Seasiders in a pre-season friendly against Scottish champions Rangers tonight with a view to sealing a move to Ian Holloway’s side.

The Exiles issued a short statement late last night confirming that Bignot is on trial at Bloomfield Road and it seems they would not stand in the player’s way if a fee can be agreed.

The club statement reads: “Newport County are pleased to announce that Paul Bignot is training with Blackpool and will play in the friendly against Rangers with a view to securing a move to the Championship club.”

The Argus understands that Blackpool, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, have not yet made a bid for Bignot.

The 25-year-old, who played for County in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Stoke City, signed a new contract in May after being linked with Sven Goran Eriksson’s Leicester City. That interest came to nothing but it now looks as if Bignot will get a second chance at securing a meteoric rise to the Championship.

And any transfer fee is likely to be relatively substantial with the player contracted to County until the summer of 2013. Asked about Bignot at the time of his trial at Leicester, County manager Anthony Hudson said: “Paul is a fantastic player but if he’s got the chance to play Championship football, we’d never, ever want to deny him that.”

While the loss of such an important player would be a blow, a big money deal would be a welcome boost for Hudson as he attempts to put the finishing touches to his squad ahead of the Blue Square Bet Premier league opener at Kettering on August 13.

Tomorrow’s friendly at Mangotsfield is a final chance for the trialists to impress.

Guillame Velez, Sofiane Gherbi, Boe Ampleford, Adam Smith, Mike Lewis and Chris Carruthers are all likely to play on the outskirts of Bristol.

It’s not clear whether Reggie Lambe will be involved having missed the Stoke clash and Steve Jones, who did face the Potters, may play against Cheltenham Town on Saturday.

“For most of them this game is the last one before we make a decision on whether to take them on,” said Hudson.

“We will have a decision on the majority after the match at Mangotsfield.”