Erik Palmer-Brown is back in Kansas City almost 10 years after it all began.
In 2013, Palmer-Brown became the youngest signing in Sporting Kansas City history when he joined the club at age 16 on a homegrown deal.
On Sunday, Palmer-Brown could line up for the U.S. national team against Uruguay after a career odyssey that’s taken him through Portugal, Belgium, Austria, and finally France.
It’s that final stop, with Ligue 1 side Troyes, that has finally given Palmer-Brown a home at which he can reasonably expect to stick around for a while.
“I think I’m at a place in my career now where it’s a little more stable,” the defender said on a call with reporters on Friday.
“Playing in France and Ligue 1, I think Tim [Weah of Lille and the USMNT] can attest, it’s a great league and week in week out, you’re going to have a tough game. So as an individual, I’ve grown a lot in that league and the competition is fierce.”
Palmer-Brown signed with Manchester City in 2018 but was immediately loaned to KV Kortrijk in Belgium. Further loans with NAC Breda, Austria Vienna, and Troyes would follow.
After playing in just two of Troyes’ first 19 league games in the 2021-22 season, Palmer-Brown established himself as a starter in the team’s back line.
Palmer-Brown would go on to start 18 of Troyes’ final 19 Ligue 1 games, helping the team secure survival in the first division and also securing himself a permanent transfer from City.
The defender’s resurgence on the club level led to a national team recall for the team’s final three World Cup qualifiers in March. He played the final 10 minutes of the USMNT’s crucial scoreless draw against Mexico, earning his first cap in two years.
“To be part of that last qualifying group of games and to be a part of the team that helped qualify for the World Cup, it gives you tremendous confidence,” Palmer-Brown said.
Palmer-Brown had played himself into contention for a World Cup roster spot even before Miles Robinson’s unfortunate injury. Now, there is even more on the line for the defender as he looks to impress on Sunday back where it all began.
“For me in KC I was just a really young guy and still going through the motions of learning how to be a professional,” he said. “Now being in Europe and having a little more experience, and using that experience from being younger to now, [I can] take that into hopefully making a World Cup roster.”
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