Steve Bull: Good to see John Ruddy staying at Wolves
It is lovely to see John Ruddy staying at Wolves for at least one more year.
He has been brilliant ever since coming in from Norwich.
You always want people like him in the dressing room who really commit themselves.
Back in my day, Mike Stowell was No.1 and Paul Jones the understudy – and they were both consummate professionals.
The keepers support each other and, more importantly, they support the team.
From everything you hear, John is great in that changing room, he works hard, so I’m glad to see him staying on.
And ultimately, that experience is crucial.
John has played for England and knows top-level football like the back of his hand – what it takes on and off the pitch to be successful, how to look after yourself.
The players will look up to him and respect him, and he is a top keeper as well.
He is a great asset to have at the club because while he may not play every single game, he can be that cup keeper and most of the time he does play, he looks just as good as when he first came in.
There is a new manager coming in, a new goalkeeping coach to come in, Rui Patricio’s being linked to Roma as well, so John staying is a boost and should make that transition a little easier for the new era under Bruno Lage.
Let’s not forget either, we’ve got a lot of young players on our books and they need nurturing.
They need that advice and guidance from seasoned professionals, and John will pass on that knowledge so I’m happy to see him carrying on with us for next season.
It was also nice to see so many Wolves players featuring in one game at the Euros the other night.
We had Nelson Semedo, Joao Moutinho, Ruben Neves and Patricio all playing for Portugal against France on Wednesday – Patricio pulling off that superb double-save – so all the best to Wolves’ internationals over the next few days in the knockout stages.
Leander Dendoncker’s there with Belgium, Adama Traore with Spain and Conor Coady, of course, with England too.
Not all of them are starting, but it’s still a great experience.
Fingers crossed, they all come back injury-free and ready to kick on when the Premier League gets back going in August.
