Reading Football Club can confirm that 32-year-old goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis has completed the paperwork on a loan move back to Sutton United – the League Two club he was last with before signing for the Royals last summer.
The Australian stopper played understudy to loanee keeper Joe Lumley during his maiden campaign as a Royal, making 6(+2) appearances for Reading in 2022-23.
With Lumley unable to play against his parent club, Bouzanis kept a clean sheet on his league debut against Middlesbrough last August and also shut out Watford in an FA Cup win at the Select Car Leasing Stadium at the start of the year.
This season, he started between the sticks in our opening day defeat to Peterborough United, but has not featured in Ruben Selles’ eleven since the arrival of David Button and the emergence of young keeper Coniah Boyce-Clarke.
The Sydney-born stopper will now vie for the gloves at Gander Green Lane once more, having previously helped Sutton to a National League title win in 2021 to celebrate promotion to the EFL for the first time in the club’s 123-year-history.
Matt Gray’s Sutton side handsomely won their opening day fixture against Notts County and progressed in the Carabao Cup courtesy of wins over Cambridge United and Wycombe Wanderers last month, but they have lost their last four in League Two.
If registered in time, Bouzanis could be eligible for a second Sutton debut this weekend when United host Forest Green Rovers on Saturday afternoon.
We would like to wish Dean the very best of luck during his loan spell.
