Former Huddersfield Town defender Josh Ruffels is closing in on a move to League Two side Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer.
The 31-year-old is currently without a club following the expiry of his contract with Huddersfield and spent a period of the summer with the PFA, but now it seems as though his next club is getting ever closer.
Shrewsbury have struggled to adapt to their new surroundings in League Two so far, picking up just one victory from their opening ten league matches thus far and find themselves 23rd in the standings.
Ruffels set for Shrewsbury switch
As reported by journalist Alan Nixon, Josh Ruffels is closing in on a permanent move to League Two strugglers Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer.
Ruffels has been without a club since the summer and hasn’t played football since April, but that draught is now set to come to an end.
Despite the pressure on current manager Michael Appleton, Nixon has confirmed that a deal to take the 31-year-old to Shrewsbury is close.
How did he fare last season?
Following Huddersfield’s relegation down to League One, Ruffels saw a dramatic increase in game-time, playing just over double the amount of matches across all competitions.
In total, Ruffels made 25 appearances for the Terriers and grabbed his only goal of the campaign during Huddersfield’s narrow 3-2 EFL Cup defeat against League Two side Walsall back in August.
Similarly, the 31-year-old played in a variety of roles for Huddersfield last season, with his most noticeable outings being at left-back and centre-back, though he did play a handful of matches on the left-side of midfield in an attack-minded role.
Can the former Huddersfield man spring the Shrews into action?
It’s fair to admit that the 2025/26 season so far has been a disaster for Shrewsbury so far, sitting in the relegation zone with almost 25% of the season being played.
The club have conceded an average of two goals per game so far, whilst scoring just 0.7 goals – showcasing several blatant issues within the side without having to dive deeper.
Ruffels has plenty of Championship and League One experience, which would help the younger players in the squad. Similarly, a fresh face could be very good for morale moving forward – but things do need to change quickly before the club fall even further into trouble.
