Jem Karacan

Jem Karacan is a midfielder of Reading. He was born on 21 February 1989 in Catford, England.

In 1996 Karacan became a trainee of Wimbledon academy and gleaned experience from the coaching staff and the matches of various youth teams during several years. After six years of training, Jem managed to develop into a very promising footballer and drew the attention of Reading scouts. In 2003 the midfielder moved to the academy of ‘The Royals’ and reached the level of a pro after four years there.

In 2007 Karacan penned a professional contract with Reading and was immediately sent on loan to Bournemouth, where the footballer gained his first playing experience and managed to keep his imperious form. Jem made 13 appearances and netted one goal for the temporary club till the beginning of 2008, when he went on another loan, this time to Millwall, where the midfielder featured in seven matches during the second half of the 2007/2008 season.

When Karacan returned to his parent club, the head coach of Reading tried to let the young Englishman on the pitch so that to see him in action. The footballer was given a place in the starting line-up, where he made encouraging display. The following years Jem made frequent appearances and skipped only a few games. From 2007 till 2012, excluding his loan spells, Karacan took part in 123 matches and went on to net seven times for ‘The Royals’.

From 2006 till 2011, Jem was capped 24 times and contributed two goals for the Turkey national U-17, U-18, U-19 and U-21 squads.