Ruari Paton Returns to St Johnstone on Permanent Deal

Ruari Paton is back where he always felt he belonged.

St Johnstone have completed the permanent signing of the forward from Port Vale for an undisclosed fee, tying the 25-year-old to McDiarmid Park on a deal until the summer of 2028 after his eye-catching loan spell last season.

Five goals in 13 Championship appearances told one part of the story. The other played out in the stands and around the training ground, where Paton quickly became more than just a short-term fix for a team fighting to re-establish itself.

For Paton, the return feels less like a transfer and more like a homecoming.

"The whole feeling of last season was really special and I loved every minute of that achievement," he told the club’s media, still riding the emotional current of a campaign that pulled St Johnstone back from the brink and into a new Premiership chapter.

He did not speak like a man who had weighed up a dozen options. He spoke like someone who already knew the answer.

"I actually loved every single thing about the club. The place, the people. I always felt happy here and I wanted to come back."

That sense of belonging ran through his loan spell. Paton did not carry himself like a temporary solution dropped in from elsewhere. He played, celebrated and suffered as if he had grown up in Perth.

"I never felt like I was on loan," he said. "I built a connection with the guys on the pitch and never had a bad interaction with anyone off it."

Those relationships mattered when the season tightened and points became a weekly scrap. Paton’s movement and finishing gave St Johnstone a sharper edge in the final third, but his value stretched beyond the penalty area. He pressed, linked play and bought into the collective effort that turned a fragile side into one with a bit of steel.

The crowd recognised it. So did he.

"I feel I have a great connection with the supporters too and everyone who works in the building. It feels like home."

That word again. Home. It explains why St Johnstone pushed to turn the loan into a long-term commitment and why Paton did not need much persuading to sign until 2028.

The club now head into the new Premiership season with a forward who knows the league, knows the dressing room and, crucially, has already proved he can deliver when the pressure tightens. The loan experiment is over. The real story of Ruari Paton at McDiarmid Park starts now.