Zak Andrew Rudden (born 6 February 2000) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for 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.
Club career
Rangers Born in Edinburgh, Rudden began his career with Rangers and joined the first-team for pre-season before the start of the 2018–19 season for the first time.
Loans In August 2018, Rudden moved out on loan to Falkirk. On 15 September 2018, Rudden scored on his debut for Falkirk.
On 23 August 2019 Rudden moved on loan to EFL League Two side Plymouth Argyle. 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. The loan ended in January 2020.
Partick Thistle On 15 January 2020 Rudden signed for Partick Thistle on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
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.
In April 2021, Rudden scored his first and second league goals for Thistle in a 2–0 home win against Clyde.
Dundee In January 2022 he signed a pre-contract agreement with Dundee on a three-year deal, starting in summer 2022. On 31 January 2022, Rudden joined Dundee on loan until the end of the season. 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.
After officially joining Dundee permanently the following season, Rudden scored his first goal of the season in a home league win over Arbroath.
On 31 January 2023, Rudden joined St Johnstone on loan until the end of the season. On 25 February Rudden scored his first goal for the Saintees in a draw against St Mirren.
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. On 23 September, Rudden came off the bench on for 10-man Dundee and scored a late equaliser against Kilmarnock.
On 26 January 2024, Rudden joined Scottish Championship club Raith Rovers on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut the following day in a league game at home against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. 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.
On 12 July 2024, Dundee announced that Rudden had departed the club after both parties mutually agreed to terminate his contract.
Queen's Park
The day after departing Dundee, Rudden signed for Scottish Championship club Queen's Park on a two-year deal. 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.
Livingston On 12 June 2025, it was announced that Rudden had signed for Scottish Premiership club Livingston.
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. Rudden made his debut on 30 August and scored his first goal for the club in a draw against Ross County. After suffering an injury in February 2026, Rudden returned for the final game of the season as a substitute for the Pars in the 2026 Scottish Cup final.
International career Rudden has represented Scotland at youth international levels, up to and including under-21.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsRangers U202016–17SPFL Development League———20202017–18———10102018–19———1111Total0000004141Rangers2018–19Scottish Premiership00000000002019–200000000000Total0000000000Falkirk (loan)2018–19Scottish Championship31120000003112Plymouth Argyle (loan)2019–20EFL League Two142101021183Partick Thistle2019–20Scottish Championship40000000402020–21Scottish League One1362120001772021–22Scottish Championship197204210269Total36134162104716Dundee (loan)2021–22Scottish Premiership131——00131Dundee2022–23Scottish Championship1952130322782023–24Scottish Premiership142002100163Total3372151324311St Johnstone (loan)2022–23Scottish Premiership12100—00121Raith Rovers (loan)2023–24Scottish Championship143——30173Queen's Park2024–25Scottish Championship3494251434715Livingston2025–26Scottish Premiership1000410051Dunfermline Athletic2025–26Scottish Championship8230—101222026–27Scottish Championship4000400080Total122304010202Career total2005014425518725766
Honours Club
Partick Thistle Scottish League One: 2020–21 Dundee Scottish Championship: 2022–23 Queen's Park Scottish Challenge Cup runner-up: 2024–25
References