Jem Karacan

Jem Karacan — Biography

Jem Karacan is an English-born midfielder of Turkish Cypriot heritage who spent most of his career at Reading. He won the Championship with Reading in 2011-12, reaching the Premier League, and captained the club in 2014-15. He also played for Galatasaray, retired in 2023 and now works as a licensed football agent.

He began at Wimbledon's academy at seven; at 14 he turned down a four-year contract offer from Galatasaray because of the language barrier and joined Reading's academy. After turning professional in 2007 he was loaned to Bournemouth and Millwall, and from 2008-09 he earned a place in Reading's midfield. He made his Premier League debut against Chelsea in August 2012 and scored his first Premier League goal against Fulham in May 2013. A serious injury in September 2013 kept him out for more than a year. In July 2015 he joined Galatasaray on a free transfer, made his debut in the Super Cup final against Bursaspor, played 90 minutes in the Champions League away to Atlético Madrid and scored in the Turkish Cup against Kastamonuspor. He then played ten matches on loan at Bursaspor from February 2016.

Later he played for Bolton Wanderers (scoring on the final day of 2016-17, when they were promoted to the Championship), Millwall, Central Coast Mariners in Australia and Scunthorpe United; Radcliffe is also among his clubs. He earned 24 caps in Turkey's youth teams and captained the under-21s.