Erik Palmer-Brown is headed for a loan spell in Belgium.
Belgian side KV Kortrijk announced on Wednesday that the club has signed the American centerback on loan from Manchester City. Palmer-Brown will remain with the club through the end of the season.
🤝 @ErikBrown14 welkom bij @kvkofficieel! #WelcomeErik
✍️ 2018
🔴⚪️ #COYR
🇺🇸
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➡️ https://t.co/G5yBsGa9E9 pic.twitter.com/mgfIEJXNz0— KV Kortrijk (@kvkofficieel) January 31, 2018
The 20-year-old defender signed with Man City after the conclusion of the MLS campaign, joining the Premier League giant on a contract through 2022. A Sporting KC product, Palmer-Brown 10 appearances for the club this past season while proving a vital piece of the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team at the U-20 World Cup.
With the move to Belgium, Palmer-Brown joins fellow Americans Ethan Horvath, Kenny Saief and Juan Pablo Torres in the Belgian Pro League.
KV Kortrijk currently sits ninth in the Belgian top flight ahead of this weekend’s match with Sint-Truiden.
I assume they are paying these players scads of money but when it is so obviously an asset game and not a sincere signing, why shouldn’t the players sign with a lesser club directly and control their fate?
If you sign with Boro or KV Kortrijk, good on you, and you can probably stay there as long as you like. But this seems like how Traffic used to snap up players and they would make 4 stops in as many years, no guarantee that if a stop goes well they don’t take you back again from the loan, and send you someplace else new that perhaps doesn’t work.
Also, from a NT/long term perspective, while we may not care where Harrison goes, EPB was supposed to be one of the backs of the future and now he’s just bouncing around, and far as I am concerned, Diskreud is just sticking a fork in his career in exchange for money. The last one may suit NYC and City but it’s a career killer for a player who not long ago was a NT regular.
It does make you wonder if these guys actually pay agents, as well…. seeems redundant if you are signing for one of these clubs these days.
It’s my understanding that EPB is not eligible for a work permit in England at this time so this was always the plan. He would sign with Man. City and then be loaned to a mid-level Euro club to prove his skill and then return to England when he was ready for minutes with MC.
He’s still so young that getting minutes is probably more important than the club he’s playing with, as long as it’s a first division club. If he plays as consistently as Miazga, or even CCV, then this is a good move for him. CCV played little in the U-20 because of injuries and red card, but when he did play, I thought EPB looked better. If he can show that form in Belgium, then with Miazga, CCV, EPT and Brooks, that is an awfully good base of CB’s for the future USMNT.
This young played u20usamnt en 2017,and win the concacaf chiamonship,winnig México
1-0,and he scored in the mexican net,to be champion,and was a golazo,now in europe,there
are more young americans than mexicans…this whit 28,26,and the americans 20,21 ,24,25
and soon they call more….
I was just saying this on another thread!