thumbnail Hello,

Nigel Howe, chief executive of the Royals, has dismissed notions that the club's best players will be poached by the Turkish side and stressed the deal is about sharing knowledge

Reading chief executive Nigel Howe has allayed fears that the club's new partnership with Galatasaray will see the Royals' best players poached by the Turkish giants.

There had been concerns that the Istanbul outfit would cherry-pick the club's leading talents, such as English-born Turkey midfielder Jem Karacan, or share players in the same manner as Watford and Udinese.

The Hornets currently have 10 players on loan from the Serie A side, but Howe has played down such fears and stressed that the agreement is primarily concerned with sharing information and knowledge, not players.

"It's about working together, not taking each other's players," Howe told BBC Radio Berkshire.

"Udinese and Watford is different as they have the same owner. This is about sharing information and helping players progress.
11/5 Reading are 11/5 with Coral to stay up this season

"[Galatasaray] have knowledge that Jem is a player of ours. There is no specific link, they think Jem is a player that has massive potential but so do we.

"So in terms of them thinking they are going to steal players, that is not how it works."

The partnership will see the two clubs work together both on and off the pitch to share knowledge of aspects such as scouting and player development, while also allowing the Royals a foothold in the lucrative Turkish market.

"It's mainly about bringing the clubs together, sharing information, scouting knowledge and [looking at] how to develop young players as well as looking into their sponsorship market," Howe continued.

"In terms of brand development the Turkish market is huge, there are lots of Turkish people living in this country also and this will help us grow the brand."


From the web