Northcote City have completed the signing of former Sydney FC goalkeeper Anthony Bouzanis as another mid-season addition.
The brother of former Liverpool and current Melbourne City custodian Dean, Bouzanis trained with the Sydney FC youth team in 2011/12 before becoming a full member of the squad for the 2013/14 season.
He was selected as one of three Young Socceroos goalkeepers for the 2013 Under-20 World Cup in Turkey, and earned a senior contact for the 2014/15 A-League season under Graham Arnold, competing with Vedran Janjetovic and Ivan Necevski for a starting role.
However, unable to break into the side, he was released alongside Necevski (later signed by Central Coast), Zac Anderson, Riley Woodcock, Jacob Tratt, Robert Stambolziev, Alex Mullen and Christopher Naumoff at the end of the club’s ACL campaign which ended in aggregate defeat to Shandong Luneng.
An outfielder in his younger years, he has also featured for Sutherland, Marconi and Sydney Olympic.
He becomes another former A-League youth to head to Northcote in the mid-season shake-up, joining Braedyn Crowley (Newcastle Jets), Keenan Gibson (Brisbane Roar), Marcus Duncan (Central Coast Mariners), Borbor Sam (Perth Glory), Anthony Taranto (Melbourne City) and Todd Norris (Perth Glory) as additions to have either youth or senior A-League experience.
“Sydney was a good experience, I learned a lot of things in the professional environment which helped me grow as a player,” Bouzanis said via press release.
“The biggest reason behind coming to Northcote was to get games. I’m a young keeper at only 20 and I’m looking to play games with older boys. I think it will be the best thing for me. Yes, it’s not the A-League but I don’t think that this league is far off.”
Northcote’s bid to jump off the bottom of the table took a turn for the better last week when they saw off Melbourne Victory 3-0.
Bouzanis will battle it off with Phil Petrovski for the number one role as gloveman.
Meannwhile, Luke Gavalas has departed John Cain Memorial Reserve, signing with Port Melbourne Sharks.