Dudfield was a tall striker who had plenty of promise when he broke on the scene with Kettering Town, making his debut at the tender age of 16. City snapped him up after just a year amongst Kettering's first-team squad and he hit the ground running, in the youth team at least, top-scoring in the 1997-98 campaign.

His form for the youth team earned him a new contract in April of that season and he continued his progression through the ranks with good performances in City's Premier Reserve League campaign. He got his chance in the first team squad and won places on the City bench, making outings against Everton and Aston Villa as a substitute.

City sent him on-loan to Lincoln City and Chesterfield to get much-needed first-team experience, and actually scored a trio of strikes for the Spireites during their promotion-winning campaign before returning to Leicester.

He moved away from Leicester in the summer of 2001 when Hull City forked out £250,000 for his services - their highest-ever fee at the time. Dudfield's career never took off though, and he followed a move to Hull with spells at clubs including Northampton Town, Southend United, Notts County and Cork City.