Zak Rudden
Scottish footballer (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zak Andrew Rudden (born 6 February 2000) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. He has previously been a player for Rangers, Partick Thistle, Dundee and Queen's Park, and has had loan spells at Falkirk, Plymouth Argyle, Dundee, St Johnstone, Raith Rovers and Livingston.
 Rudden training with Dundee in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zak Andrew Rudden[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 6 February 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.87 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Dunfermline Athletic | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rangers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2020 | Rangers | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Falkirk (loan) | 31 | (12) |
| 2019–2020 | → Plymouth Argyle (loan) | 14 | (2) |
| 2020–2022 | Partick Thistle | 36 | (14) |
| 2022 | → Dundee (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 2022–2024 | Dundee | 33 | (7) |
| 2023 | → St Johnstone (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2024 | → Raith Rovers (loan) | 14 | (3) |
| 2024–2025 | Queen's Park | 34 | (9) |
| 2025 | Livingston | 1 | (0) |
| 2025– | Dunfermline Athletic | 8 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Scotland U16[3] | 2 | (0) |
| 2015–2017 | Scotland U17[3] | 12 | (2) |
| 2017–2019 | Scotland U19[3] | 14 | (6) |
| 2021 | Scotland U21[3] | 3 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12:29, 1 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18:22, 27 March 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Rangers
Born in Edinburgh,[4] Rudden began his career with Rangers[5] and joined the first-team for pre-season before the start of the 2018–19 season for the first time.[6]
Loans
In August 2018, Rudden moved out on loan to Falkirk.[7] On 15 September 2018, Rudden scored on his debut for Falkirk.[8]
On 23 August 2019 Rudden moved on loan to EFL League Two side Plymouth Argyle.[9][10] He made his debut for the club the next day, as a first half substitute in a 3–0 win over Walsall, and scored his first goal for the club in an EFL Trophy tie against Swindon Town on 8 October 2019.[11] The loan ended in January 2020.[12]
Partick Thistle
On 15 January 2020 Rudden signed for Partick Thistle on a two-and-a-half-year deal.[13][14]
After multiple injury problems and the shutdown of football due to COVID-19, Rudden scored his first Thistle goal on 23 March 2021 in a 3–0 win at home over Cowdenbeath in the Scottish Cup.[15]
In April 2021, Rudden scored his first and second league goals for Thistle in a 2–0 home win against Clyde.[16]
Dundee
In January 2022 he signed a pre-contract agreement with Dundee on a three-year deal, starting in summer 2022.[17] On 31 January 2022, Rudden joined Dundee on loan until the end of the season.[18][19] He made his debut the following day as a substitute in the Dundee derby, and scored his first goal for the club four days later against Ross County.[20]
After officially joining Dundee permanently the following season, Rudden scored his first goal of the season in a home league win over Arbroath.[21]
On 31 January 2023, Rudden joined St Johnstone on loan until the end of the season.[22][23] On 25 February Rudden scored his first goal for the Saintees in a draw against St Mirren.[24]
Following his return from loan at St Johnstone, Rudden scored the winner in Dundee's first competitive game of the 2023–24 season, coming in the League Cup against Bonnyrigg Rose.[25] On 23 September, Rudden came off the bench on for 10-man Dundee and scored a late equaliser against Kilmarnock.[26]
On 26 January 2024, Rudden joined Scottish Championship club Raith Rovers on loan until the end of the season.[27] He made his debut the following day in a league game at home against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[28] Rudden scored his first goal for the Fifers in the following league game, in a sold-out title-chasing win over his parent club's rivals Dundee United.[29]
On 12 July 2024, Dundee announced that Rudden had departed the club after both parties mutually agreed to terminate his contract.[30]
Queen's Park
The day after departing Dundee, Rudden signed for Scottish Championship club Queen's Park on a two-year deal.[31] Rudden made his debut for the Spiders on the same day, and scored his first goal for the club in a 0–5 away victory over Peterhead in the Scottish League Cup group stage.[32]
Livingston
On 12 June 2025, it was announced that Rudden had signed for Scottish Premiership club Livingston.[4]
Dunfermline Athletic
On 28 August 2025, less than three months after signing for Livingston, Rudden signed for Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic on a two-year deal.[33] Rudden made his debut on 30 August and scored his first goal for the club in a draw against Ross County.[34]
International career
Career statistics
- As of match played 19 September 2025
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rangers U20 | 2016–17[35] | SPFL Development League | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18[36] | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 2018–19[8] | — | — | — | 1[a] | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||
| Rangers | 2018–19[8] | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019–20[11] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Falkirk (loan) | 2018–19[8] | Scottish Championship | 31 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 12 |
| Plymouth Argyle (loan) | 2019–20[11] | EFL League Two | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 1 | 18 | 3 |
| Partick Thistle | 2019–20[11] | Scottish Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2020–21[37] | Scottish League One | 13 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 7 | |
| 2021–22[20] | Scottish Championship | 19 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1[a] | 0 | 26 | 9 | |
| Total | 36 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 16 | ||
| Dundee (loan) | 2021–22[20] | Scottish Premiership | 13 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| Dundee | 2022–23[38] | Scottish Championship | 19 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3[a] | 2 | 27 | 8 |
| 2023–24[39] | Scottish Premiership | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | |
| Total | 33 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 43 | 11 | ||
| St Johnstone (loan) | 2022–23[38] | Scottish Premiership | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |
| Raith Rovers (loan) | 2023–24[39] | Scottish Championship | 14 | 3 | — | — | 3[c] | 0 | 17 | 3 | ||
| Queen's Park | 2024–25[40] | Scottish Championship | 34 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4[a] | 3 | 47 | 15 |
| Livingston | 2025–26[41] | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 2025–26[41] | Scottish Championship | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
| Career total | 191 | 50 | 11 | 4 | 21 | 5 | 17 | 7 | 240 | 66 | ||
- Appearance(s) in the Scottish Challenge Cup.
- Appearance(s) in the Football League Trophy.
- One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup, two appearances in the Premiership play-offs
Honours
Club
- Partick Thistle
- Dundee
Queen's Park
- Scottish Challenge Cup runner-up: 2024–25[44]