James Delianov

James Delianov
Born	(1999-10-20) October 20, 1999 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation	Professional soccer goalkeeper
Years active	2016–
Known for	Playing for Newcastle Jets, Adelaide United, Melbourne City, Western United

James Nicholas Delianov (born 20 October 1999) is a professional soccer goalkeeper from Australia, currently signed with the Newcastle Jets.

Early life

Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Delianov grew up in the suburb of Mill Park. He has two elder siblings and was introduced to football at a young age, inspired by his father. His early football development began with Bundoora United Soccer Club. Delianov admired goalkeepers such as Mark Schwarzer and Mitchell Langerak. He has Macedonian heritage.

Early career

Delianov initially joined Melbourne City where he was regarded as a promising young goalkeeper. In March 2017, he secured a two-year scholarship contract with the senior squad. He made his professional debut on 26 April 2019, achieving a clean sheet in a 5–0 victory over Central Coast Mariners. Despite this, he was released from the club shortly afterward.

Following this, Delianov signed a two-year contract with Western United ahead of their debut season in the A-League. Unfortunately, an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained during training ruled him out for the entire season, and Ryan Scott took his place in November 2019. In November 2020, both parties agreed to terminate his contract.

Adelaide United

On 11 November 2020, after departing Melbourne, Delianov joined Adelaide United on a two-year contract. He made his first appearance for Adelaide on 28 December 2020 against his former team Western United at GMHBA Stadium, maintaining a clean sheet in a goalless draw. By March 2021, he had earned the RAA Travel Members' Player of the Month award twice, having made 41 saves and kept three clean sheets. A hamstring injury in the same month temporarily sidelined him, with Joe Gauci stepping in as goalkeeper.

On 19 June 2021, Delianov notably saved a penalty during Adelaide's 2–1 semi-final defeat to Sydney FC. Starting the following season as the primary goalkeeper, he suffered a shoulder injury after seven league games which resulted in Gauci once again taking over. After recovering, Delianov remained on the bench. In June 2022, he extended his contract for an additional two years.

Due to Gauci's international commitments, Delianov returned to competitive action on 4 January 2024 against Wellington Phoenix, marking his first game in two years and ending an extended period as reserve goalkeeper.

International career

Delianov has represented Australia at youth levels, featuring for both under-16 and under-17 national teams. He participated in the qualification phase for the 2014 AFC U-16 Championship and was selected for the squad at the 2015 U-17 World Cup; however, he did not see playing time during that tournament. In October 2018, he received a call-up to Australia's under-20 team for the AFC U-19 Championship that year. His goalkeeping performances were praised throughout the competition despite Australia’s failure to qualify for the 2020 U-20 World Cup following a quarter-final defeat (3–1) to Saudi Arabia.

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Melbourne City Youth	2016	NPLV2 West	9	0	—		9	0
	2017	NPLV2 East	29	0	—		29	0
	2018	NPLV2 East	26	0	—		26	0
	Total		64	0	—		64	0
Melbourne City	2018–19	A-League	1	0	—		1	0
Western United	2019–20	A-League	0	0	—		0	0
Adelaide United Youth	2021	NPL SA	5	0	—		5	0
Adelaide United	2020–21	A-League	18	0	—		18	0
	2021–22	A-League	6	0	2	0	8	0
	2022–23	A-League	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2023–24	A-League	16	0	0	0	16	0
	Total		40	0	2	0	42	0
Career total			110	0	2	0	112	0