Gavin Okeroghene Bazunu (born 20 February 2002) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Bolton Wanderers and the Republic of Ireland national team.
Bazunu started his career at Shamrock Rovers, making his first team debut in June 2018 at the age of 16, before joining Manchester City in February 2019. He had loan spells at Rochdale and Portsmouth. In 2022, Bazunu permanently joined Southampton. He spent half of the 2024–25 season on loan at Standard Liège and half of the 2025–26 season on loan at Stoke City. He left Southampton in August 2026 and subsequently signed for Bolton Wanderers.
An Irish youth international, he made his senior international debut in 2021.
Early and personal life Born in Dublin, Bazunu was raised in Firhouse, a suburb of the city. He is of Irish and Nigerian descent, with his father being Nigerian. His younger brother, Todd, is also a goalkeeper and plays at youth level for Shamrock Rovers.
Club career
Shamrock Rovers Having come through the academy at Shamrock Rovers, Bazunu made his debut for Rovers' first team on 9 June 2018 in a 5–0 win at home to Bray Wanderers, at the age of 16. Manager Stephen Bradley stated that despite not wanting to 'throw [young goalkeepers] in that early', Bazunu was 'ready' for his first-team debut. He made three further appearances for Shamrock Rovers in the 2018 League of Ireland Premier Division. These included a penalty save at Cork City which meant he kept four clean sheets out of four in the league. Bazunu also made two appearances in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League.
Manchester City On 6 September 2018, it was announced that Bazunu had joined Premier League club Manchester City for an undisclosed fee reported to be £420,000, though a joining date had not been set, with Bazunu wishing to complete his education in the Irish education system. The following month, it was announced he has signed a pre-contract agreement with Manchester City, with it initially agreed he would join the club in summer 2019, before it was moved forward to February 2019. He made his debut for Manchester City's under-18 side on 9 February 2019 against Stoke City U18.
Bazunu was named in Manchester City's UEFA Champions League squad for a Round of 16 second leg match against Real Madrid in August 2020.
Loans to Rochdale and Portsmouth He signed a contract extension with Manchester City until 2024 and joined League One side Rochdale on a season-long loan later that month. He started and kept a clean sheet on his debut for Rochdale on 5 September 2020 in a 1–0 EFL Cup victory away to Huddersfield Town, and made his first league appearance the following week in a 3–1 defeat at Swindon Town.
On 1 July 2021, he moved on loan to Portsmouth for the 2021–22 season. He was named as the club's Players' Player and Player of the Season.
Southampton
On 17 June 2022, Bazunu joined Southampton on a five-year contract for a reported fee of £12 million. On 6 August 2022, he made his first Premier League appearance for Southampton in a 4–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Bazunu got his first clean sheet in the Premier League and for Southampton on 19 October 2022 in a 0–1 victory against Bournemouth.
Ahead of a match against Preston North End on 16 April 2024, he suffered an achilles injury during the warm-up. Manager Russell Martin subsequently confirmed that Bazunu would be sidelined for nine to ten months. On 10 January 2025, he played for the under-21 side in a 5–0 victory over Fulham in Premier League 2.
Standard Liège (loan) On 3 February 2025, he joined Belgian Pro League club Standard Liège on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season. On 24 April 2025, it was announced that Bazunu's loan was cut short due to a knee injury and he would be returning to Southampton.
Stoke City (loan) On 13 January 2026, Bazunu joined Stoke City on loan for the remainder of the 2025–26 season. Injuries restricted Bazunu to just six appearances for Stoke.
Bolton Wanderers On 28 August 2026, Bazunu joined Bolton Wanderers on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
He made his debut for Bolton on 8 September 2026 in a 3–2 defeat against West Ham United at the Toughsheet Community Stadium. West Ham's winner came from a Bazunu mistake.Bolton Wanderers 2 West Ham United 3, BBC Sport, 8 September 2026 Four days later he kept a clean sheet in a Man of the match performance against Cardiff City, with Bolton winning 1–0.]https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c6y4znek19y4t Bolton Wanderers 1 Cardiff City 0], BBC Sport, 12 September 2026
International career Bazunu has played for the Republic of Ireland at under-17 and under-21 youth levels. He played for the under-17s at the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.
In March 2021, he was called into the senior Republic of Ireland team for the first time, for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He made his senior debut in a 1–0 defeat on 27 March 2021 against Luxembourg.
In September 2026, Bazunu withdrew from the Irish squad ahead of UEFA Nations League games against Israel in protest against the Gaza genocide. The rest of the squad voted by a majority to play the fixtures.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsShamrock Rovers2018League of Ireland Premier Division4000002060Manchester City2018–19Premier League00000000002019–20Premier League00000000002020–21Premier League00000000002021–22Premier League0000000000Total0000000000Rochdale (loan)2020–21League One290102000320Portsmouth (loan)2021–22League One440200000460Southampton2022–23Premier League3201040—3702023–24Championship4100000004102024–25Premier League000000—002025–26Championship1900000—190Total920104000970Standard Liège (loan)2024–25Belgian Pro League80———80Stoke City (loan)2025–26Championship6000——60Bolton Wanderers2026–27Championship300000—30Career total18604060201980
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsRepublic of Ireland2021100202230202380202410Total220
Honours Individual
Premier League Save of the Month: November / December 2022 Portsmouth Player of the Season: 2021–22 RTÉ Young Sportsperson of the Year: 2021 FAI Young International Player of the Year: 2021 PFA Team of the Year: 2021–22 League One IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team: 2022
References
External links