Wolverhampton Wanderers Reshape Goalkeeping Department with Ruddy and Virginia

Wolverhampton Wanderers have turned to a familiar face and a returning prospect to reshape their goalkeeping department before Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

John Ruddy is back at Molineux. Joao Virginia is back in English football. And Cesar Peixoto suddenly has a very different look between the posts.

Ruddy returns to where it all changed

Wolves, preparing for life in the Championship after relegation from the Premier League, have handed Ruddy a one-year deal, bringing the 39-year-old back to the club where he became a promotion linchpin.

Ruddy’s first spell at Wolves ran for five seasons and peaked in 2017-18, when he kept 24 clean sheets and helped Nuno Espirito Santo’s side storm to the Championship title. Since leaving Molineux, he has spent two seasons at Birmingham City and two more at Newcastle United, but the pull of his old home has proved strong.

Peixoto made it clear this move is about far more than nostalgia.

"It's important having a lot of experience in the team, and John knows the club very well, he's home at the club, so will be an important guy on the pitch, but also in the dressing room," the Wolves boss said.

"He is a player who played a lot of games, who got to the Premier League with Wolves and who has a lot of knowledge of the Championship and English football.

"It's important to bring new faces, new personalities, but it's also important to build a strong group, a strong spirit, and I think he can add this quality. We want to bring these characteristics to the club."

Ruddy’s arrival follows Daniel Bentley’s move to Premier League side Coventry City, a departure that opened up space and responsibility in a goalkeeping group that still includes Jose Sa and Sam Johnstone.

Virginia’s second shot at England

Alongside Ruddy’s homecoming, Wolves have also completed the signing of Joao Virginia from Sporting Lisbon on a three-year contract, adding a different profile to their goalkeeping mix.

Virginia, 26, is no stranger to English football. He came through the academies at Arsenal and Everton and made eight senior appearances for the Toffees before being released last year. That decision sent him back to Portugal, where he joined then-champions Sporting.

Game time in Lisbon was limited but not insignificant. Last season he featured seven times for the first team, including one outing in the Champions League, before being allowed to pursue a return to England.

For Peixoto, Virginia’s blend of experience and untapped potential fits the project.

"Joao has a lot of quality and potential to grow," he said. "He is hungry to be successful, to work hard and to bring experience because he knows the Championship and English football.

"He knows the expectation and pressure of playing to win game after game at his last club, and because of that it's easier to adapt to our club, to adapt to English football because he's played here for 10 years. It's going to be easier to be ready to help the team."

With Ruddy’s know-how, Virginia’s ambition and Sa and Johnstone still on the books, Wolves have stacked the most scrutinised position on the pitch. The competition is fierce. The margin for error in a promotion chase will be even fiercer.