Duo commit to Royals

Jem Karacan and Michail Antonio have signed contract extensions with Reading to keep them at the Madejski Stadium until the summer of 2013. The duo's contracts were set to expire at the end of the season but boss Brendan Rodgers has swiftly moved to tie them down to new deals. Karacan, 21, has played in every Championship game so for the club this campaign while Antonio, 20, has been an important squad player this season following an impressive loan spell with Southampton last year. "Both of these contracts are well deserved for the players and important for the club in terms of protecting two of our assets," director of football Nick Hammond told the club's official website. "Jem has come through our Academy and has a become a regular in the team this season. He's competitive, with a winning attitude, and there's a lot more to come from him, he's got lots of improvement in him still and the next challenge for him is to continually develop his game and get onto the next level. "Michail has shown really good progression in the last 12 months, having come out of non-league football late in his career at Tooting & Mitcham. He earned good experience at Southampton, they were very impressed with him and of course he scored at Wembley as well."

Source: PA

Source: PA