Jem Karacan

Jem Paul Karacan (Turkish: Cem Karacan, IPA: [ˈdʒem kaɾaˈdʒan]; born 21 February 1989) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays for League Two club Scunthorpe United. Prior to his move to Bolton he played for Turkish club Galatasaray and Reading, as well as various loan spells. He has played internationally for the Turkish youth team, and has captained the U-21 side.

Jem Karacan
Karacan in 2010
Personal information
Full name Jem Paul Karacan[1]
Date of birth (1989-02-21) 21 February 1989
Place of birth Catford, London, England
Position(s) Central midfielder / Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Scunthorpe United
Number 23
Youth career
1996–2003 Wimbledon
2003–2007 Reading
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2015 Reading 175 (11)
2007–2008 → Bournemouth (loan) 13 (1)
2008 → Millwall (loan) 7 (0)
2015–2017 Galatasaray 11 (1)
2016 → Bursaspor (loan) 9 (0)
2017–2018 Bolton Wanderers 21 (1)
2018–2019 Millwall 4 (0)
2019 Central Coast Mariners 10 (1)
2021– Scunthorpe United 4 (0)
National team‡
2006 Turkey U17 5 (0)
2006 Turkey U18 6 (2)
2006–2008 Turkey U19 10 (0)
2008–2011 Turkey U21 3 (0)
2012 Turkey A2 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2012

Early life

Karacan was born in Catford, London to a Turkish Cypriot father and an English mother.[2] Between the ages of seven and fourteen he played for the now defunct Wimbledon and left after they relocated to Milton Keynes. He had been offered a four-year contract at the club his father supported, Galatasaray, but refused citing language difficulties, "I couldn't go out there at only 14, not speaking the language and so on".[3] Karacan joined Reading's Youth Academy instead, having been spotted playing against the Royals while on trial at Manchester United.

Club career

Reading

On 6 July 2007, he signed a two-year professional contract with Reading,[4] and made his debut against Luton Town on 26 August in the League Cup, getting on the scoresheet.

Loan to Bournemouth and Millwall

Karacan joined Bournemouth on loan, initially for one month, on 18 October 2007.[5] Karacan was put into the starting XI for Bournemouth on 20 October away to Millwall, where he made his league debut in Bournemouth's 2–1 defeat.[6] His loan was subsequently extended to 6 January 2008.[7] Karacan signed a further loan deal in the 2007–08 season on 20 March 2008, this time to Football League One side Millwall, which was originally due to run until 19 April 2008,[8] but was extended to the end of the 2007–08 season.[9]

Return to Reading

He scored against Aston Villa in a pre season match before the 2008–09 season, and scored his first professional goal for Reading in a League Cup win over Luton Town on 26 August 2008.[10] Towards the end of 2008, he began to start a few matches after impressing in the reserves and following injuries to James Harper and Marek Matejovsky. He signed a new 2 and half-year contract in October 2008, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2010–11 season. He scored his first league goal in Reading's 2–2 draw with Blackpool FC on 13 April 2009, in the Championship.[11] On 20 August 2011, Karacan made his 100th appearance in all competitions for Reading against Barnsley in a 2–1 defeat. During Reading's 2–0 victory over Leeds United on 6 April, Karacan suffered a broken ankle after a tackle by Michael Brown.[12][13] He signed a new contract on 19 September 2012 keeping him at the club until June 2015.[14] On 4 May 2013 Karacan scored his first Premier League goal with a low shot into the bottom corner in Reading's 4–2 away win against Fulham.[15]

He began the 2013–14 season in good goalscoring form, netting twice in a 3–3 draw against Watford on 17 August.[16] A month later he again suffered a serious injury in a game against Leeds and had to be substituted after nine minutes.[17] The club later confirmed that he had ruptured both his anterior cruciate and medial ligaments and would be out for six to nine months.[18][19] After more than a year out, he entered the final part of his recovery in October 2014.[20]

For the 2014–15 season, Karacan was made captain by Nigel Adkins and changed his squad number to 21, due to his admiration for Italian maestro Andrea Pirlo.[21] He made a brief return from his injury nightmare on 10 January 2015, coming on as a late substitute against Middlesbrough,.[22] He scored a consolation goal from 20 yards on 14 March, after replacing Jake Taylor as a second-half substitute in a 4–1 defeat at Vicarage Road, in his second appearance of the season.[23]

He went on to play in each of the remaining games and made his final appearance in a Reading FC shirt in a 3–0 away victory against Derby County.

Galatasaray

On 8 July 2015, Karacan joined Galatasaray on a three-year contract following the expiration of his Reading contract at the end of the 2014–15 season.[24]

Karacan made his debut for the club in a 1–0 victory against Bursaspor in the Super Cup final, replacing Lukas Podolski in the final 10 minutes of the game.

He made his Süper Lig debut against Gaziantepspor after replacing Yasin Öztekin, and Galatasaray won that match 2–1. Karacan played 90 minutes against Eskişehirspor where his team won 4–0, showing himself as a central midfielder both offensively and defensively.

Karacan made his Campions League debut on 25 November 2015 completing 90 minutes away to Athletico Madrid in 2–0 defeat.

He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win against Kastamonuspor in the Turkish Cup on 26 January 2016. This was his last appearance before leaving to join Bursaspor for the remainder of the season.

Karacan left Galatasaray by mutual consent on 6 January 2017.[25]

Loan to Bursaspor

On 1 February 2016, Karacan was loaned to fellow Süper Lig club Bursaspor until the end of the 2015–16.[26]

He played 10 games whilst on loan at Bursaspor playing mainly as a central midfielder but showing versatility by playing his final game for the club appearing as right back and getting man of the match in a 1–1 draw with Konyaspor.

Bursaspor enquired about the permanent signing of Karacan but according to reports the financial situation at the club meant negotiations broke down.

Bolton Wanderers

On 11 March 2017, Karacan joined Bolton Wanderers on a one-month contract, making his debut for the Trotters from the substitutes bench that same day, coming on for Darren Pratley in a 4–2 win away at Fleetwood Town.[27] On the final day of the season, Karacan scored the opening goal to put Bolton 1-0 up against Peterborough United in a 3–0 win, which was enough to seal promotion back to Championship as runners up.[28] On 24 May, the club confirmed that Karacan had signed a one-year deal, with an option for a further year, keeping him at the club until at least June 2018.[29] Parkinson made Karacan captain for several games during the first third of the season and then due to unknown circumstances he was out of favour. On 23 May 2018, Karacan confirmed that the option on his contract was not activated and was leaving Bolton Wanderers at the end of his contract in June 2018.[30] The day after, Bolton confirmed that Karacan would leave the club at the end of his contract.[31]

Millwall

On 17 August 2018, Millwall announced the signing of Karacan on a short-term deal until January 2019.[32] Karacan left Millwall at the end of his contract on 15 January 2019.[33]

Central Coast Mariners

On 24 January 2019, Central Coast Mariners announced the signing of Karacan on a contract until the end of the 2018–19 season.[34]

Scunthorpe United

Karacan joined League Two club Scunthorpe United on a short-term deal on 4 January 2021.[35]

International career

Born to a Turkish father and English mother, Karacan is eligible to represent both countries at international level. He chose to represent Turkey and has captained them at youth level. He made his debut for the under-21s as a substitute against Armenia in August 2008,[3] before making his first appearance for the A2 team when they beat Estonia 5–0 in March 2012.[36] Karacan received his first senior call-up for Turkey on 13 October 2012,[37] for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Hungary, but was an unused substitute.[38]

Career statistics
As of match played 26 January 2021.[39]
Karacan playing for Reading in 2013
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Reading 2007–08 Premier League 000000—— 00
2008–09 Championship 1511011—00 172
2009–10 2704000—— 310
2010–11 4033020—3[lower-alpha 1]0 483
2011–12 3730000—— 373
2012–13 Premier League 2113020—— 261
2013–14 Championship 720000—00 72
2014–15 811000—00 91
Total 1551112051--30 17512
Bournemouth (loan) 2007–08 League One 1313100–1[lower-alpha 2]0 172
Millwall (loan) 2007–08 League One 700000–00 70
Galatasaray 2015–16 Süper Lig 2020-101[lower-alpha 3]0 60
2016–17 0000-0000 00
Total 2020--1010 60
Bursaspor (loan) 2015–16 Süper Lig 9000––– 90
Bolton Wanderers 2016–17 League One 510000-- 51
2017–18 Championship 1600021-- 181
Total 2110021---- 232
Millwall 2018–19 Championship 400020–– 60
Central Coast Mariners 2018–19 A-League 8100––– 81
Scunthorpe United 2020–21 League Two 400000–00 40
Career total 22313171921050 25516
  1. Appearances in the Championship play-offs
  2. Appearance in the Football League Trophy
  3. Appearance in the Turkish Super Cup

Honours
Reading
Bolton Wanderers

References
  1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
  2. Zaman. "İngiliz futbolu,Kıbrıs Türklerini keşfetti!". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  3. "Jem Karacan: my story". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  4. "Royals make six Academy signings". Reading F.C. 6 July 2007. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
  5. "Bournemouth sign Karacan on loan". BBC Sport. 18 October 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
  6. "Millwall 2–1 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 20 October 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
  7. "Another cracker from Henry". Reading F.C. 19 November 2007. Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2007.
  8. "Karacan loaned to Millwall". Reading F.C. 20 March 2008. Archived from the original on 25 March 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  9. "Karacan loan deal extended". Reading F.C. 17 April 2008. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  10. "Reading 5–1 Luton". BBC Sport. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  11. "Blackpool 2–2 Reading". BBC Sport. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  12. "Karacan season over with broken ankle". Reading F.C. 10 April 2012. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  13. "Jem: I'll be back better and stronger". Reading F.C. 10 April 2012. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  14. "Karacan extends contract". Reading FC. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  15. "Fulham 2–4 Reading". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  16. "Reading 3–3 Watford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  17. "Reading 1–0 Leeds United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  18. "Karacan update". Reading F.C. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  19. Watts, Charles (29 September 2013). "Karacan: I knew straight away my season was over". Reading Post. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  20. "Jem Karacan: Reading skipper close to ending injury nightmare". www.bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  21. "Squad numbers confirmed". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  22. "Reading 0-0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  23. "Watford 4-1 Reading". BBC Sport. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  24. "Jem Paul Karacan Galatasaray'da". galatasaray.org (in Turkish). Galatasaray S.K. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  25. "Jem Paul Karacan'ın sözleşmesi feshedildi". galatasaray.org (in Turkish). Galatasaray S.K. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  26. "Jem Paul Karacan Bursaspor'da !". bursaspor.org.tr (in Turkish). Bursaspor. 1 February 2016. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  27. "Bolton Wanderers sign Jem Karacan". Bolton Wanderers FC. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  28. "Bolton Wanderers 3-0 Peterborough United". BBC Sport. 30 April 2017.
  29. "Jem Karacan agrees deal with Wanderers". Bolton Wanderers FC. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  30. "Ex-Reading star Jem Karacan released by Bolton Wanderers". theboltonnews.co.uk. The Bolton News. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  31. "Wanderers confirm departure of seven players". Bolton Wanderers Official Site. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  32. "Millwall confirm Jem Karacan signing". millwallfc.co.uk. Millwall F.C. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  33. "Jem Karacan departs Millwall". millwallfc.co.uk. Millwall F.C. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  34. "Mariners sign former Premier League midfielder, Jem Karacan". ccmariners.com.au. Central Coast Mariners FC. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  35. "Iron complete Jem Karacan". scunthorpe-united.co.uk. Scunthorpe United FC. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  36. "International Round-Up". Vital Reading. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  37. "Jem wins call-up!". Reading F.C. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  38. "Hungary vs. Turkey 3 – 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  39. "Jem Karacan career statistics". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  40. "Jem Karacan". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
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