Tom King: Goalkeeper on his amazing week with Wales

Tom King spent last season on loan with AFC Wimbledon

He is the first Newport County player to receive a Wales international call in almost 40 years and boy did he pick the right squad to be involved in.

In the summer Tom King was a free agent and fretting on his professional future, but now he is on the cusp of playing international football and a teammate of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.

He is now dreaming of a Wales spot and capping his season at Euro 2020 after being involved in the squad that sealed qualification to Wales' third major finals by beating Hungary 2-0 at the Cardiff City Stadium.

"The night we produced on Tuesday will live long in the memory of every Wales fan, including myself," King told BBC Sport Wales.

"Yeah it was absolutely outstanding night and performance," he continued. "I had goose bumps during the national anthem and from that point on you could tell it was going to be a special night.

"It just felt like all that hard work, digging deep, it all comes to fruition."

Tom King, who represented England at youth level, was at Crystal Palace as a youth team player before joining Millwall

Secret scouting by Tony Roberts

King, 24, joined Newport in the summer as a free agent at the expiration of his Millwall contract.

He knew he was eligible for Wales through his Welsh mother, who is from Cardiff, but admits international football was not on his radar as he looked to establish himself with Michael Flynn's side, who were beaten in the League Two play-offs last term.

Wales goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts has been a regular at Newport games this season, but Flynn initially hid that fact.

"The gaffer used it as a motivation for me, I don't need extra motivation, but he told me before a game, I think it was Forest Green away, he took me aside and said 'if you fancy a big game today there is someone very important watching' and after the game he revealed who it was," King said.

"I kind of had an inkling because my form had been pretty good from the start of the season. I have just been doing the best I could."

King's phonecall to tell him he was ready for a call-up was a special one as he become the first Newport player since 1983 to make a senior Wales squad.

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

"I asked the gaffer 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!"

Tom King joins in with the post-match celebrations on Tuesday

Mixing it with Bale and Ramsey

Called into the squad to face Azerbaijan in Baku and Hungary in Cardiff, King had to overcome the initial shock of walking into a training session with some of Wales' more iconic players, like Real Madrid and Juventus duo Bale and Ramsey.

"The first five or 10 minutes, the introductions and stuff, it was quite daunting I am going to be honest with you, but I got quite lucky that Wayne Hennessey and Gareth Bale are close mates and I know Wayne from when I was at Crystal Palace, so he made it easier at the beginning," King said.

"After that it was fine, 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."

King says he did not feel out of place with Wales' stars, but admit he lower status in the game did lead to some humour.

"The biggest thing is fact I didn't feel out of place, why am I here? I don't deserve to be here, there was none of that," he said.

"I kept pace, I wasn't at fault for my team losing at 5-a-side or anything like that, so that's the biggest compliment I can give myself really.

"I slotted in nicely with the squad on and off the pitch. These boys are on astronomical money and it's only something I can dream of, but they speak to you like a normal human being. It's not like I was the coffee boy.

"There were a few jokes though. We were in the airport in Azerbaijan and a native came up and asked for a picture with me and I said 'you must be a big Newport County fan' and everybody had a great laugh out of that.

"I accept that's how it is, I am at Newport County and these boys are at big clubs in higher leagues."

This picture has been a subject of much debate in Madrid

'The lads think I positioned myself next to Bale on purpose'

King is now dreaming of the chance to force his way into Ryan Giggs' 23-man squad that will head to Euro 2020, just Wales' third major tournament appearance.

But he doesn't intend to get too comfortable with his newfound status, even though he has been accepted into the Wales players' WhatsApp group.

When asked if Tuesday would be a memory to last forever, King replied: "Yes and if it wasn't I have about 1.5 million pictures of me and Gareth Bale with that flag! I found myself in (Spanish newspaper) Marca this week and I've got some friends in Spain so I had some messages.

"The lads think I positioned myself next to Bale on purpose!"

King believes the Wales group have a spirit akin to a club.

"The spirit is amazing. The group WhatsApp chat is still going on now.

"There are a lot of unsaved numbers in there and I think I better keep it that way until I am a more regular member of the squad.

"I don't want to leave the group but I also don't want to be pocket calling Gareth Bale at 3am, I don't think that would go down too well."