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.
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.[1] He also attended Archbishop O'Hara High School in Kansas City, Missouri.[2] After playing in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, at the age of 16, he signed his first professional contract,[3] making him Sporting Kansas City's youngest ever player.[4]
In January 2014, Serie A team Juventus reportedly made a $1 million bid for Erik Palmer-Brown, which was rejected by Sporting Kansas City.[5] In the same year, Palmer-Brown was voted number 39 on UK website TeamTalk's top 50 Wonderkids in 2014.[6]
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.[7]
Porto
On February 1, 2016, Palmer-Brown was loaned to Portuguese club Porto until December 31, 2016.[8] He started regularly in central defense for Porto B, helping them to the LigaPro title.[9]
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.[10]
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.[11]
Loan to Austria Wien
He then joined Austria Wien for the 2019–20 season.[12] He extended his loan at Austria Wien for the 2020–21 season.[13]
Loan to Troyes
On August 31, 2021, he moved to France to join Ligue 1 club Troyes on a season-long loan deal.[14] In February 2022, the deal was made permanent with Palmer-Brown signing a contract until the summer of 2024.[15]
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
2013–2017: Youth level
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.[16] In 2015, he was called to the roster that played in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[17]
As captain, Palmer-Brown won the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship with the United States.[18] He was awarded the Golden Ball Award by CONCACAF as the best player of the tournament, playing the defensive midfield position.[19] 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[20] and Scouted Football.[21]
2018: Debut
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.[22]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[23] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting Kansas City | 2014 | MLS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[24] | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| Porto B (loan) | 2015–16 | LigaPro | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[25] | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[25] | 1 | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Total | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | ||
| Sporting Kansas City II | 2017 | USL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[26] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Kortrijk (loan) | 2017–18 | Belgian Pro League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8[27] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| NAC Breda (loan) | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 1 | ||
| Austria Wien (loan) | 2019–20 | Austrian Bundesliga | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[28] | 0 | 26 | 2 | |
| 2020–21 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[28] | 0 | 29 | 0 | |||
| Total | 46 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 55 | 2 | ||
| Troyes (loan) | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| Troyes | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| Panathinaikos | 2023–24 | Super League Greece | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[29] | 0 | 3[30] | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12[31] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | ||
| Total | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 186 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 231 | 5 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
Honors
Sporting Kansas City
- U.S. Open Cup: 2017
Panathinaikos
- Greek Cup: 2023–24
United States U20
- CONCACAF Under-20 Championship: 2017[32]
Individual
- CONCACAF Under-20 Championship Best XI: 2017
- CONCACAF Under-20 Championship Golden Ball: 2017
References
- 1."Erik Palmer-Brown | MLSsoccer.com".
- 2.City, Sporting Kansas. "On This Day: Erik Palmer-Brown becomes youngest center back to start an MLS match in 2014". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
- 3."Sporting Kansas City signs 16-year-old Homegrown Player Erik Palmer-Brown". Sporting Kansas City. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- 4.Sporting KC Youth Academy Changing US Development System | The University Daily Kansan
- 5."Sporting Kansas City spurns Juventus' bid for defender Erik Palmer-Brown". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
- 6."TEAMtalk's top 50 wonderkids: The full list". November 11, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014.
- 7."Sporting KC's Erik Palmer-Brown learns harsh lessons in MLS debut, vows to be "ready" upon return". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- 8."Sporting KC loans defender Erik Palmer-Brown to FC Porto". Sporting Kansas City.
- 9."Shaped by time at Porto, U.S. captain Palmer-Brown primed for second U-20 World Cup". Sports Illustrated.
- 10."KV Kortrijk". kvk.be. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018.
- 11."NAC leases Palmer-Brown from City" (in Dutch). NAC Breda. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
- 12."Austria Wien loans Palmer-Brown from Manchester City" (in German). Austria Wien. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
- 13.mlssoccer. "Sporting Kansas City product Erik Palmer-Brown extends loan at Austria Wien | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
- 14."ERIK PALMER-BROWN À L'ESTAC". www.estac.fr (in French). August 31, 2021. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- 15."Official Troyes sign Manchester City's USA defender Erik Palmer-Brown on a permanent deal". getfootballnewsfrance.com. February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- 16."U.S. U18 MNT impressive in France". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
- 17."Tab Ramos Finalizes 21-Player Roster for 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
- 18."USA win their first CONCACAF U-20 Championship". SB Nation. March 5, 2017.
- 19."Five Things To Know About U-20 MNT Captain Erik Palmer-Brown". US Soccer. May 15, 2017.
- 20."From Woodman to Penaranda: The U20 World Cup Team of the Tournament". www.Squawka.com. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- 21."Scouted's U20 World Cup Team of the Tournament 2017". www.Twitter.com. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- 22.Cummings, Michael. "Erik Palmer-Brown Exclusive: Sporting KC Star on World Cup Hopes, Juve and More". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
- 23.Includes US Open Cup, Austrian Cup, Coupe de France, Greek Cup
- 24.appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
- 25.[25.2]Appearance(s) in Premier League International Cup
- 26.Appearance(s) in USL Cup
- 27.Appearances in Belgian Pro League European playoffs
- 28.[28.2]Appearances in Bundesliga Europacup-Play-off
- 29.Appearance(s) in UEFA Conference League
- 30.Appearances in Super League Greece Play-off
- 31.Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, ten appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
- 32."U-20 MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM CLAIMS FIRST CONCACAF U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP WITH SHOOTOUT WIN VS. HONDURAS". ussoccer.com. March 5, 2017.