Dawson was in tremendous form during his side's FA Cup win over Newcastle United, but his shortlisting is recognition that he was also on top of his game the previous month.

The boyhood fan only made three appearances in December, but caught the eye in all of them.

The month started with David Stockdale as the Owls' first choice, as he had been all season, but manager Darren Moore surprisingly drafted Dawson in for the match against Oxford United, where he saved a last-minute penalty to secure a 0-0 draw,

CATCHING THE EYE: Cameron Dawson established himself as Sheffield Wednesday's first-choice goalkeeper in December

He followed it up with big saves against Fleetwood Town and Port Vale, conceding one goal in his three outings.

Former Barnsley striker Conor Chaplin, now at Ipswich Town, Bolton Wanderers forward Dion Charles and Plymouth Argyle centre-back Dan Scarr are the other contenders when the winner is announced on Friday.

An unbeaten run featuring 10 points from four matches has put Duff in the running to be manager of the month. His promotion-chasing side beat Peterborough United, Burton Albion and Fleetwood in December.

He is up against Wycombe Wanderers' Gareth Ainsworth, Dino Maamria of Burton and Plymouth Argyle's Steven Schumacher.

Sheffield Wednesday's Cameron Dawson and Barnsley's Michael Duff in the running for League One's December awards