John Ruddy, born on 24 October 1986 (age 39), is an English goalkeeper currently with Newcastle United. An imposing 6ft 4in (1.93m), he began at Cambridge United before Everton took him on in 2005, a move that brought a long spell of loans rather than a clear route into the first team.
Those early years were not glamorous, but they mattered. Ruddy had to learn his trade in short, uneven bursts across the lower leagues, then found a more substantial test at Motherwell in 2009-10. That loan in Scotland gave him regular football at a better level and helped move him beyond the status of a promising keeper waiting for his chance.
Norwich City gave him that chance in 2010. He became their first-choice goalkeeper, played in the Premier League, and earned an England cap in 2012. Later spells with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City kept him in senior football, with Wolves bringing a Championship title in 2017-18.
Ruddy joined Newcastle United in 2024 and wears squad number 26. His current market value is around £128,000, according to Transfermarkt. It has been a long career built less on fuss than durability, with that early loan education doing plenty of the heavy lifting.
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