NEWPORT County AFC manager Justin Edinburgh says he wouldn’t stop rising star Conor Washington from moving to a bigger club but he hopes to hang on to the striker for a while yet.

The 21-year-old scored his seventh goal of the season in Friday night’s 2-0 win over Hartlepool United to become County’s joint leading scorer alongside the injured Chris Zebroski.

Washington is already attracting headlines and drawing scouts to Rodney Parade following his excellent start to life in League Two.

And Edinburgh knows that there may well be offers in January for the player he plucked from the relative obscurity of St Ives Town just over a year ago.

“Conor is in top form. Where’s he’s come from in the last six months is extraordinary and there is more to come,” said the Exiles boss.

“He’s handled the move into the full-time profession superbly and he’s always keen to learn.

“His attitude is excellent and if he keeps playing that way there’s nothing stopping him playing at a higher level.

“You have to be realistic and I showed with Lee Evans that I’ll never stand in a player’s way and stop them progressing.

“We’re on a different level now and we’re trying to progress ourselves but if the right offer came in we would consider it.

“What we have to do though is try to keep him here for the rest of the season because he’s vital for us having success.

“I think the boy is happy here and he’s got a lot more to learn,” he added. “Nothing will happen until January and we’ll assess that if and when it happens.

“But I embrace it because it shows how far we’ve come. I know with the board’s backing I don’t foresee anyone leaving unless an astronomical amount of money is offered for any one of my players.

“I feel that we can be successful and hopefully we’ll be able to keep this squad together.”

Washington is expected to lead the line alongside Christian Jolley and Danny Crow against Braintree Town in the FA Cup first round replay on Tuesday night.

And Edinburgh was keen to praise Crow as well as Washington after Friday’s victory.

“Conor would be the first to say that his teammates have played a big part and I think Danny Crow deserves a special mention,” he said.

“I think that was his best game of the season and he’s getting to full fitness now.

“I’m delighted for him because he suffered a few injuries last year but he’s doing great now.

“We came through on Friday with no new injuries and Ryan Jackson got through it, even though he was only at 80 per cent,” he added.

“That is pleasing and we look forward to the Braintree game. We want to keep the momentum going, and continue to make Rodney Parade a really hard place for teams to come.”