Erik Palmer-Brown

Erik Ross Palmer-Brown (born April 24, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center-back for Greek Super League club Panathinaikos.

Erik Palmer-Brown
Palmer-Brown with Austria Wien in 2019
Personal information
Full nameErik Ross Palmer-Brown[1]
Date of birth (1997-04-24) April 24, 1997 (age 27)
Place of birthNapoleon, Ohio, United States
Height6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)
Position(s)Center-back
Team information
Current team
Panathinaikos
Number14
Youth career
2009–2013Sporting Kansas City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2013–2017Sporting Kansas City20(0)
2016Porto B (loan)17(0)
2017Swope Park Rangers5(0)
2018–2022Manchester City0(0)
2018Kortrijk (loan)9(0)
2018–2019NAC Breda (loan)18(1)
2019–2021Austria Wien (loan)52(2)
2021–2022Troyes (loan)5(0)
2022–2023Troyes54(0)
2023–Panathinaikos3(0)
International career
2013United States U175(0)
2014–2015United States U186(1)
2014–2017United States U2017(1)
2018–United States4(0)
Medal record
Representing  United States
First placeCONCACAF U-20 Championship2017
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 28, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 5, 2022

Club career

Sporting Kansas City

Palmer-Brown moved to Lee's Summit, Missouri when he was 18 months old. He later played one season of high school soccer as a freshman at Lee's Summit High School in the fall of 2011.[2] He also attended Archbishop O'Hara High School in Kansas City, Missouri.[3] After playing in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, at the age of 16, he signed his first professional contract,[4] making him Sporting Kansas City's youngest ever player.[5]

In January 2014, Serie A team Juventus reportedly made a $1 million bid for Erik Palmer-Brown, which was rejected by Sporting Kansas City.[6] In the same year, Palmer-Brown was voted number 39 on UK website TeamTalk's top 50 Wonderkids in 2014.[7]

He made his debut for Sporting Kansas City on May 18, 2014, in a regular season match against Chicago Fire. But it ended prematurely when he was sent off in the 64th minute for a second yellow card after giving away a penalty in the 15th minute in a 2–1 loss.[8]

Porto

On February 1, 2016, Palmer-Brown was loaned to Portuguese club Porto until December 31, 2016.[9] He started regularly in central defense for Porto B, helping them to the LigaPro title.[10]

Manchester City

Palmer-Brown signed a contract with Premier League side Manchester City. He was immediately loaned to Belgian First Division A club KV Kortrijk until the end of the 2017–18 season.[11]

Loan to NAC Breda

After spending the second half of the 2017–18 season with Kortrijk, Palmer-Brown was loaned to NAC Breda in the Eredivisie for the 2018–19 season.[12]

Loan to Austria Wien

He then joined Austria Wien for the 2019–20 season.[13] He extended his loan at Austria Wien for the 2020–21 season.[14]

Loan to Troyes

On August 31, 2021, he moved to France to join Ligue 1 club Troyes on a season-long loan deal.[15] In February 2022, the deal was made permanent with Palmer-Brown signing a contract until the summer of 2024.[16]

Panathinaikos

On August 2, 2023, Greece's Super League runner-up Panathinaikos F.C. from Athens signed Erik Palmer-Brown for a 4-year contract deal.

International career

Palmer-Brown has represented the United States at the U-15, U-17, U-18, and U-20 levels. He has made 6 appearances for the U-18 team up to this point, scoring his first goal for the team in a 1–0 win over the Czech Republic.[17] In 2015, he was called to the roster that played in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[18]

As captain, Palmer-Brown won the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship with the United States.[19] He was awarded the Golden Ball Award by CONCACAF as the best player of the tournament, playing the defensive midfield position.[20] Palmer-Brown then played in central defense for the United States at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and was named to the Best XI of the Tournament by both Squawka[21] and Scouted Football.[22]

On May 28, 2018, Palmer-Brown made his senior national team debut in a 3–0 win against Bolivia.

Personal life

Palmer-Brown was a student of Archbishop O'Hara High School in Kansas City, Missouri. He was confirmed as a Catholic in 2015.[23]

Career statistics

International

As of match played June 5, 2022[24]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
United States201820
202220
Total40

Honors

Sporting Kansas City

Panathinaikos

United States U20

Individual

References