Ryan Fulton

Ryan William Fulton (born 23 May 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian. He has previously played for Hamilton Academical, as well as loan spells at Portsmouth and Chesterfield.

Ryan Fulton

Fulton playing for Chesterfield in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Ryan William Fulton[1]
Date of birth	(1996-05-23) 23 May 1996 (age 29)[2]
Place of birth	Burnley, England
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Heart of Midlothian
Number	30
Youth career
2007–2015	Liverpool
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2017	Liverpool	0	(0)
2016	→ Portsmouth (loan)	12	(0)
2016–2017	→ Chesterfield (loan)	26	(0)
2017–2024	Hamilton Academical	103	(0)
2024-	Heart of Midlothian	3	(0)
International career‡
2011	Scotland U16	2	(0)
2014–2015	Scotland U19	6	(0)
2016–2018	Scotland U21	11	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 4 March 2019

Born in England, he was a youth player for Liverpool and a youth international for Scotland.

Club career

Liverpool

Fulton was born in Burnley, Lancashire^[2] and joined Liverpool in 2007, representing them at under-10 level and upwards.^{[citation needed]} Towards the end of the 2013–14 season, he made progress into the Under-21 squad. He featured sporadically during the 2014–15 campaign but was a regular starter in the UEFA Youth League for under-19 teams.^{[citation needed]}

He was first called up to the senior squad for their 2015 summer tour of Asia prior to the 2015–16 season.^{[citation needed]} He was made Liverpool's third-choice keeper, behind Simon Mignolet and Ádám Bogdán, after fellow reserve shot stoppers Danny Ward and Lawrence Vigouroux were sent out on loan.^{[citation needed]}

Loan to Portsmouth

In January 2016, Fulton emerged as a loan target for Portsmouth as well as Aberdeen.^{[citation needed]}

On 22 January 2016, he was signed by Portsmouth on a one-month youth loan deal.^{[citation needed]} He made his senior debut the following day in a 1–0 defeat to Oxford United, a game in which he saved a penalty from Liam Sercombe.^[3]

Loan to Chesterfield

On 9 July 2016, he was signed by Chesterfield on a season long loan deal for the 2016–17 season, as cover for the injured first-choice goalkeeper Tommy Lee.^[4]

Hamilton Academical

On 18 July 2017, Fulton joined Hamilton Academical on a two-year deal.^[5][6]

Heart of Midlothian

On 19 June 2024, Fulton joined Heart of Midlothian on a two-year deal after his contract with Hamilton expired.^[7]

International career

Although born in England, he has represented Scotland at under-16, under-19 and under-21 level.^[8]

Career statistics

As of 24 July 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Liverpool	2015–16[9]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2016–17[10]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Portsmouth (loan)	2015–16[9]	League Two	12	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Chesterfield (loan)	2016–17[10]	League One	26	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	29	0
Hamilton Academical	2017-18[11]	Scottish Premiership	6	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	7	0
	2018–19[12]	Scottish Premiership	4	0	1	0	1	0	1[a]	0	7	0
	2019–20[13]	Scottish Premiership	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2020–21[14]	Scottish Premiership	28	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	31	0
	2021–22[15]	Scottish Championship	20	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	21	0
	2022–23	Scottish Championship	33	0	3	0	4	0	1	0	41	0
	2023–24	Scottish League One	12	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	15	0
Heart of Midlothian	2024–25	Scottish Premiership	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2025–26	Scottish Premiership	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
Career total			144	0	9	0	13	0	3	0	169	0

1. Appearance as an over-age player for Hamilton under-21s in the Scottish Challenge Cup in which age-restricted sides from the Scottish Premiership clubs compete against senior clubs

Honours

Hamilton Academical

• Scottish Challenge Cup: 2022–23^[16]