Here's the latest from Alfredo Pedullà (translated from Italian): Exclusive: Juve up the offer for Palmer-Brown. And now… Erik Palmer-Brown will ship off to Juventus. Last night’s meeting with Sporting Kansas City achieved the desired results. Juve raised their offer to $800K plus bonuses, and now the deal is close to being sealed. Also because the 16-year-old defender, whose current contract expires in 2015, has said yes. The meeting proved fruitful, and the Bianconeri’s intermediary Maurizio Franzone kept his club updated on the details. A positive outcome is now just a step away. The president of the MLS club, who is out of town at the moment and will return in a few days, was kept informed on every detail by Peter Vermes; previously the coach had slyly (and rightly) denied any kind of a deal. SKC also sought an increase in the offer because, as per MLS rules, 33% of any sale must go to the league. A few days ago two representatives from Chelsea had arrived in the USA ready to make an offer, but Juventus have by now established a significant advantage. Now the Palmer-Brown deal is truly in the home stretch and lacks only the signatures on the documents. As the youngster is not in possession of a European passport, the idea is that of bringing him to Juve for the 2015/16 season when he will have reached the age of eighteen. In the meantime, both parties have expressed their desire to set up training stints in Italy in order to enable Erik to get used to his future situation, perhaps also accompanied by his mother and other close relatives. Juve have turned up the pressure in recent weeks, convinced by their excellent relationship with Palmer-Brown. And now they’re preparing to reap the rewards. http://www.alfredopedulla.com/articoli/39596-esclusiva_palmer_brown_la_juve_alza_l_offerta_e
Man, that's chump change given the investment the owners have made in SKC, and the fact that EPB can't even go on their roster for 15 months...this is a deal that can only benefit 1 party...smacks of Italian dreamery... Even if there's a sell on clause, if EPB doesn't progress to make regular appearances for Juve in the next few years, he'll be cast off for a paltry fee...if he becomes a hit, Juve keeps him so no transfer...it only works for SKC is he shows a lot of promise, sees the field enough to prove his value to teams with money, but for some reason Juve doesn't see him as equal to their needs.
It's also a good deal for the player. SKC might not be maxing out their potential $ return on Erik (or maybe they are, they aren't foolish businessmen), but I think it is trouble in the long run for clubs to be seen as potential stumbling blocks for young kids with talent. MLS has that reputation already with the long-term contracts they force on their young talent. SKC might see PR/recruiting benefit to them from being known as a club that doesn't stand in the way when big time clubs come calling for young talent.
The penultimate sentence should read: Juve have turned up the pressure in recent weeks, convinced by the excellent reports on Palmer-Brown.
MLS teams have also reached a level where they can't be doormats to big time clubs anymore either. Especially a club like SKC which is looking to build a global brand.
Totally disagree. If he could move to Juve now and start up, yes, but EPB won't have any bargaining power for 15 months and he's not really in position to solicit competing offers. That said, if a team like Juve comes after a 16 year old kid, I expect the kid to swoon. Doesn't mean it's good for him. We've had plenty of YA reserve squad heroes at huge clubs...
I'd pit many MLS owners against European/International owners without issue. Do yourself a favor and look up who are the investors in Sporting KC.
The article didn't say the deal was done, it said 'close to being done', so of course he's going to say that.
Yes but it's different having owners that have a foreign reach then a club that's looking to extend their "global brand" like Bayern's currently just doing right now. With all due respect to SKC I'm not sure I see them pulling in waves of fans from Europe/Asia/Africa
Another alternative is if Juve agrees to pay SKC for appearances. For example, the two clubs could agree that EPB is worth (say) $1M as a prospect. But if he proves himself to be good enough to make 10 senior appearances, then he's worth another half million. If he gets to 25 appearances, that's worth another half million. Something like that. That's one way that two clubs can protect themselves. Juve doesn't start paying alot unless the kid proves he's good enough for Juve, that he's more than just a prospect. And SKC don't end up selling a guy good enough to play for a G-14 club for peanuts.
Here's the latest from Alfredo Pedullà (translated from Italian): Exclusive: the latest on Palmer-Brown and Juventus The next week should be the right one in defining the final details for defender Erik Palmer-Brown’s transfer to Juventus. As we have reported in the past, the Bianconeri have gained a significant advantage by now to overcome Sporting Kansas City’s resistance. The formula will allow Palmer-Brown to remain in the States until reaching the age of 18 (as he is a non-EU citizen) with the possibility of spending training stints in Italy in order to facilitate his adjustment to the new environment. A new contract is expected between the clubs in the next few days which will put the final details in order. http://www.alfredopedulla.com/articoli/41810-esclusiva-palmer-brown-e-la-juve-le-ultime
Excited for the kid if this is true, but wondering what Juve wants in an 18-year-old youth player that hasn't come up in their ranks. I suppose they think that defenders mature a little slower and so they can afford to train him for another few years. This is curious to me.
This piece makes it sound like SKC have been hesitant to agree to the deal UNLESS they are allowed to keep training him until he's 18, and this makes no sense to me.
I think a bunch of games have been going on behind the scenes as SKC and Juve have been hammering out a deal. I'm not sure that what's been reported so far has any connection to reality. SKC wants to get as much money as possible. Juve is trying to give SKC a reason to continue working hard to develop the player until he turns 18. So it's complicated. One report I saw said that Juve was trying to provide monetary incentives for SKC to actually play EPB in MLS games. But there's little chance that SKC is going to play EPB as a 17 year old when they have Opara/Besler/Collin/etc. So that doesn't make a lick of sense.
I feel like I've seen that same report 5 times, it's always juuust about to happen. I still appreciate the update I'm just not sure I buy it yet.
Well, there's really no rush. Juve can't actually acquire the player for over a year. So as long as another club doesn't come along....................they can just keep negotiating ad naseum. Presumably Juve wants to get the deal done before that happens. There are plenty of centerbacks in the world. If Juve isn't happy with SKC's demands, they can just move on. MLS doesn't have to "bend over" every time a Euro club wants to acquire one of their players.