Tom King (footballer)

Tom King

Personal information
Full name	Thomas Lloyd King [1]
Date of birth	(1995-03-08) 8 March 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth	Plymouth, England
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.94 m) [2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number	40
Youth career
2004–2008	Manchester 62 F.C. (Gibraltar)
2008–2011	Portsmouth
2011–2014	Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2019	Millwall	11	(0)
2015	→ Welling United (loan)	20	(0)
2016	→ Braintree Town (loan)	16	(0)
2018	→ Stevenage (loan)	18	(0)
2018	→ Wimbledon (loan)	12	(0)
2019–2021	Newport County	40	(1)
2021–2023	Salford City	57	(0)
2023	Northampton Town	8	(0)
2023–	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	(0)
International career
2010–2011	England U17	1	(0)
2019–	Wales	0	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:48, 14 March 2023 (UTC)

Thomas Lloyd King (born 8 March 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He represented the England Under 17 team but chose to represent Wales at senior level, qualifying through his Welsh mother. He received his first call-up to the senior Wales squad in November 2019.

Club career

Millwall

King signed a one-year contract with Millwall in August 2014, having left the Crystal Palace youth team earlier in the season. ^[3]

He joined National League club Welling United on an initial one-month youth loan on 24 July 2015. ^[4] He went on to make 20 appearances for the "Wings", before he was recalled by Millwall on 21 December. ^[5]

King returned to the National League on 19 February 2016, joining Braintree Town for an initial 28-day emergency loan. ^[6] In his second appearance in the club for a Guiseley at Nethermoor Park match, King became involved in a controversial incident during an 1–1 draw. ^[7] He conceded the equalising goal after Oliver Norburn broke a fair play protocol and lobbed him from 30-yards out rather than passing the ball to him, after Braintree had kicked the ball into touch to allow an injured Braintree player to receive treatment; a five-minute fracas followed but the goal was allowed to stand after security staff separated the players and management, and Guiseley manager Mark Bower refused to allow Braintree to walk through and score. ^{[8] [9] [10] [11]} Bower went on to say: "Their keeper stood there with his arms in the air and allowed the ball to into the net. It put us in a really difficult position whether we should allow them to score or not but we decided no. I think their keeper was trying to be clever and had simply let the ball go in." ^[12] King said he was "bewildered" by Bower's statement, and speaking on the incident itself said that: "It is one of those things that will be remembered for a long time, I'll be remembered for a long time and it will carry on forever". ^[13] The incident was described as "one of the biggest on-field controversies seen in non-league football", and Braintree manager Danny Cowley said that: "it's the worst thing I've seen on a football pitch and it was disgraceful unsporting behaviour on their part". ^[14] The following week, Guiseley chairman Phil Rogerson released a statement recognising the fair-play convention had not been followed: "... myself, Mark [Bower] and the club find the situation most regrettable and not in line with the general ethos of Guiseley AFC. Fair play is and always has been at the heart of the club. The decision to continue playing as normal after the goal was taken on the spur of the moment and under extreme pressure, not helped at all by the heated atmosphere." ^[9] King went on to extend his loan at Cressing Road until the end of the 2015–16 season, and Braintree qualified for the play-offs, losing out to Grimsby Town at the semi-final stage following a 2–1 aggregate defeat. ^[15]

King made his first team debut for Millwall in a 2–1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in an EFL Cup Second Round match at The Den on 23 August 2016. ^[16]

King signed an 18-month contract extension with Millwall on 4 January 2018. ^[17] On the same day, he joined League Two side Stevenage on loan for the rest of the 2017–18 season. ^[17] King made his debut for Stevenage two days after signing, keeping a clean sheet in the club's 0–0 home draw with Reading in the Third Round of the FA Cup. ^[18]

On 27 June 2018 King joined AFC Wimbledon on a season long loan. ^[19] King started the season as first choice goalkeeper but soon fell behind the Dons reserve goalkeeper Joe McDonnell in the pecking order as the Dons struggled at the bottom of the table. His season-long loan was cut short when recalled by Millwall in January having started only 11 League games for the Dons, who had already replaced him with the loan of Aaron Ramsdale on loan from A.F.C. Bournemouth.

Newport County

On 7 June 2019, King joined League Two club Newport County on a two-year contract. ^[20] On 3 August 2019 he made his debut for Newport in a 2–2 draw against Mansfield Town, saving a second half penalty. ^[21] In September 2019, King was nominated for the August PFA League Two Player of the Month Award, after five successive clean sheets, and more than 500 minutes of football played without conceding for the South Wales side, who had climbed to second place in the league. ^[22]

King scored the first goal of his career on 19 January 2021, with a wind-assisted goal kick in the 12th minute of Newport's 1–1 League Two draw at Cheltenham Town. ^{[23] [24]} On 21 January 2021, his goal was confirmed to have broken the Guinness World Record for longest football goal, with a distance of 96.01 metres (105 yd), a record previously held, since November 2013, by Asmir Begović. ^[25] King played for Newport in the League Two playoff final at Wembley Stadium on 31 May 2021 which Newport lost to Morecambe, 1–0 after a 107th-minute penalty. ^[26] On 4 June 2021 it was announced that he would leave Newport County at the end of the 2020–21 season, following the expiration of his contract. ^[27]

Salford City

On 7 July 2021, Salford City confirmed that they had signed King on a two-year deal. ^[28]

Northampton Town

On 14 January 2023, King signed for fellow League Two club Northampton Town on a six-month deal after agreeing a release from his Salford contract. ^[29] Having been dropped for Alex Cairns, King's availability arrived at a good moment for Northampton due to an injury to Lee Burge. ^[30]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 3 July 2023, King joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on a free transfer following his release from Northampton Town. ^[31] He was substituted on the 78th minute in a friendly against Stade Rennais in Wolves' 3–1 victory. This marked his debut for the club.

International career

King was capped by England at under-16 and under-17 level. ^[32] He also qualifies for Wales as his mother was born in Cardiff ^[33] as well as being eligible for Gibraltar through residency, having spent several years there as a child, where he first started playing football in the youth ranks at Manchester United (Gibraltar). ^[34]

On 7 November 2019, King was called up in the Wales national football team for the first time for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Azerbaijan and Hungary. ^[35] In August 2021, following the withdrawal of Adam Davies due to a positive COVID-19 test, King was called up in the squad for the September international fixtures; a friendly against Finland, and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Estonia. ^[36]

Career statistics

As of match played 25 February 2023

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Millwall	2014–15 [37]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2015–16 [38]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2016–17 [39]	League One	11	0	1	0	1	0	4 [lower-alpha 1]	0	17	0
	2017–18 [40]	Championship	0	0	0	0	2	0	—		2	0
	2018–19 [41]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		11	0	1	0	3	0	4	0	19	0
Welling United (loan)	2015–16 [38]	National League	20	0	0	0	—		0	0	20	0
Braintree Town (loan)	2015–16 [42]	National League	16	0	0	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	18	0
Stevenage (loan)	2017–18 [40]	League Two	18	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	20	0
AFC Wimbledon (loan)	2018–19 [41]	League One	12	0	0	0	2	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	16	0
Newport County	2019–20 [43]	League Two	31	0	2	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	35	0
	2020–21 [44]	League Two	9	1	2	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	14	1
	Total		40	1	4	0	1	0	4	0	49	1
Salford City	2021–22 [45]	League Two	36	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	38	0
	2022–23 [46]	League Two	21	0	2	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	26	0
	Total		57	0	3	0	2	0	2	0	64	0
Northampton Town	2022–23 [46]	League Two	7	0	—		—		—		7	0
Career total			181	1	10	0	8	0	14	0	213	1

1. Appearances in the EFL Trophy
2. Appearances in the National League play-offs

Honours

Millwall

• EFL League One play-offs: 2017 ^[47]

References

1. "Retained List 2015–16" (PDF). English Football League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
2. "Tom King". AFC Wimbledon. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
3. "Millwall sign keeper Tom King". millwallfc.co.uk. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
4. "Millwall youngster Tom King joins Welling on loan". millwallfc.co.uk. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
5. "King recalled by Lions". wellingunited.com. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
6. "Braintree Town sign Millwall goalkeeper Tom King on loan". BBC Sport. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
7. "BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
8. Harris, Matt (29 February 2016). "Braintree Town NEWS: Guiseley AFC chairman says controversial Norburn goal was 'most regrettable'". Essex Chronicle. Retrieved 24 September 2016.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
9. Shepka, Phil (29 February 2016). "Guiseley v Braintree events around Ollie Norburn goal 'regrettable'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
10. Spurgeon, Simon (27 February 2016). "Guiseley boss Bower explains why his team didn't allow Braintree Town a walk-in goal as game ends in controversy". Daily Gazette. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
11. Spurgeon, Simon (27 February 2016). "Unpalatable ending for Braintree as controversial Guiseley goal denies them eighth away victory". Braintree and Witham Times. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
12. Ward, David (29 February 2016). "Guiseley 1–1 Braintree Town MATCH REPORT: Iron boss -". Essex Chronicle. Retrieved 24 September 2016.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
13. "Braintree Town NEWS: Millwall loanee Tom King baffled by claim he could have stopped Guiseley goal". Essex Chronicle. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
14. Ward, David (28 February 2016). "Braintree boss describes Guiseley incident as the 'worst thing he's seen' on a football pitch". Green 'Un 24. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
15. "National League: Braintree Town 0–2 Grimsby Town (agg: 1–2, aet)". BBC Sport. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
16. "Millwall 1–2 Nottingham Forest". BBC Sport. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
17. "Tom King: Stevenage sign Millwall goalkeeper on loan". BBC Sport. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
18. "Stevenage 0–0 Reading". BBC Sport. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
19. "AFC Wimbledon sign Millwall's King". BBC Sport.
20. "Newport County sign goalkeeper Tom King". BBC Sport.
21. "Newport County 2-2 Mansfield Town". BBC Sport.
22. "Newport County's clean sheet King up for PFA August award". South Wales Argus. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
23. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "WOW! 😱| Newport County goalkeeper Tom King scores from his goal kick". YouTube .
24. "Cheltenham Town 1–1 Newport County". BBC Sport. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
25. "British goalkeeper Tom King breaks record for longest football goal". Guinness World Records. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
26. "Shrimps go up with extra-time penalty". BBC Sport.
27. "Newport County AFC retained list confirmed". www.newport-county.co.uk.
28. "Salford sign ex-Newport goalkeeper King". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
29. "Northampton sign Salford goalkeeper King". BBC Sport. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
30. Heneghan, James (14 January 2023). "Cobblers sign goalkeeper Tom King from Salford City". Northampton Chronicle. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
31. "King adds experience to Wolves | Men's First-Team | News".
32. "Introducing the squad". millwallfc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
33. "Exiles number one Tom King would '100 welcome' Wales call". South Wales Argus. 17 September 2019.
34. @FootballGib (27 June 2018). "Tom King, who is eligible for Gibraltar after the recent eligibility rule change to move in line with FIFA's rules,…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
35. "Tom King: Newport County goalkeeper added to Wales squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers". BBC Sport. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
36. Kirwan, Chris (31 August 2021). "Tom King called up by Wales after Adam Davies Covid positive". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
37. "Games played by Tom King in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
38. "Games played by Tom King in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
39. "Games played by Tom King in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
40. "Games played by Tom King in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
41. "Games played by Tom King in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
42. Tom King at Soccerway
43. "Games played by Tom King in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
44. "Games played by Tom King in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
45. "Games played by Tom King in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
46. "Games played by Tom King in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
47. Hunt, Josh (20 May 2017). "Bradford City 0–1 Millwall". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.

External links

• Tom King at Soccerbase
• Tom King at Soccerway