Dean Bouzanis holding the promotion trophy last season. (Photo: A-Leagues France/Twitter)
The 31-year-old is back in England and has been a constant presence for Matt Gray’s side between the sticks since signing in 2020.
Australian goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis has been around the globe. Starting with Liverpool as a youth player, Bouzanis played for a host of teams including Oldham Athletic, Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne City from 2016 to 2020 with a loan move to PEC Zwolle in between.
In 2020, Bouzanis signed with then National League side Sutton United in the fifth tier of English football.
In his maiden season with the Yellows, Bouzanis was an ever-present in goal for Matt Gray’s side. It was Gray’s second full season in charge having taken over the team in May of 2019.
For Bouzanis, his goalkeeping ability has never been questioned, but his ball-playing ability makes him a real weapon to kickstart attacks. It separates him from other keepers in this sense.
Often used as a way to move his team into attacking areas, he is equally adept with both feet as he regularly pings passes 30-40 yards to his teammates.
Bouzanis helps lead Sutton to promotion
During his first season, he started and finished every single game of the 42-game league season in the National League. As they say, the best ability is availability, and last season Bouzanis was as dependable as ever.
Out of those 42 matches, he kept 18 clean sheets (second-most in the league) as Sutton secured promotion for the very first time in the club’s 123-year history to the English Football League competition.
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Now competing in League Two, Bouzanis and co are up against stiffer competition. However, it has not seemed to bother the newly promoted side. It sits seventh in the league table, just three points behind Exeter City in second.
For Bouzanis, he has continued his good form from last season. He has kept seven clean sheets so far in his 18 matches with a save rate of 35.3 per cent. That has him sixth in the league with goalkeepers playing over 11 matches. His latest clean sheet coming in a 2-0 win over Mansfield Town.
Having initially moved to England to support his partner Steph Catley who plays for Arsenal in the FA Women’s National League, Bouzanis has found a new place to call home.
He is making a great fist of it so far, helping Sutton to promotion, and is now in the midst of a great second season as the club chases back-to-back promotions.
While not at one of the bigger clubs in Europe like some of his fellow Australian’s, seeing what he has done with Sutton in a short space of time is great to see.
Sutton United might not get the fairy tale ending this season as so few teams gain back-to-back promotions. But for Bouzanis, he is quietly going about his business with the League Two team with aplomb.
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