Terence Vancooten

Terence Owen Vancooten (born 29 December 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League Two club Stevenage.

Following spells at various youth academies, Vancooten joined Staines Town in 2014 and established himself in the first-team during the 2015–16 season. He joined Championship club Reading in the summer of 2016, and was also loaned out to Billericay Town and Basingstoke Town during his time there. He signed for Stevenage in July 2017. Vancooten has also been capped for Guyana, representing his country at the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Club Career

Early career

Vancooten began his career at Hampton & Richmond Borough, before joining Leatherhead's youth system, competing in the West Surrey under-16 league. It was at Leatherhead where Vancooten was scouted by Brentford, joining the west London club in 2014 after a successful trial period. After a brief spell at Brentford, he then joined Staines Town at academy level in early 2014, where he also represented the Middlesex FA. He impressed in the club's academy and subsequently began to play for the first-team during the 2015–16 season, making ten appearances in all competitions.

He signed for Championship club Reading ahead of the 2016–17 season, and was placed in their under-23 development squad for the season. After making three appearances for the under-23 team, Vancooten was loaned out to Billericay Town in November 2016 for the remainder of the year. He made five appearances during his time at Billericay before returning to his parent club. Vancooten was loaned out once again on 25 February 2017, this time joining Southern League Premier Division club Basingstoke Town for the remainder of the 2016–17 season. He made nine appearances for Basingstoke. At the end of the season, Vancooten was released by Reading.

Stevenage

Following his release from Reading, Vancooten spent several weeks on trial at League Two club Stevenage, playing in all of the Hertfor