Ryan Astley

Career
Ryan got his proffesional contract at 17/18 after going through the Everton youth system. He gained his debut (and another game) in the 19/20 season and then was loaned out to Middlesbrough in January where he only played twice. In the 20/21 season he appeared 7 times, either off the bench of in cup fixtures. The 21/22 season he made 8 appearances and didn't play for the first team the season after. For the 23/24 season he was loaned out to Bolton, where he performed well, getting 4 assists in 23 games and averaging 7.39 rating throughout them. The next two seasons (24/25 & 25/26) he played 4 games for Everton and they decided not to renew his contract. Gateshead noticed this and signed him on a £4,500 a week contract to help them out in the League One title push. He performed well, playing 36 games and providing 1 assist whilst being a rock at the back with fellow new signing Jay Williams. The second season of his at Gateshead came and with the defence being packed full of quality; he was in and out of the starting 11. Overall he played 29 games over the 27/28 season averaging a 7.24 rating. The 28/29 seaosn saw him fall down the pecking order, he ended up only appearing 20 times, but still managed to average a 7.40 rating throughout. He was placed on the transfer market in the summer and a £950k bid came in from Bradford City. This was accepted and he moved there after playing 85 games for the club over 3 years.