http://soccer.si.com/2014/01/24/sporting-kansas-city-erik-palmer-brown-juventus-bid/ Sporting Kansas City has turned down a $1 million bid from Italian giant Juventus for 16-year-old defender Erik Palmer-Brown, a source with knowledge of the offer told SI.com. Because he's only 16, something doesn't ring quite right, unless he has an EU passport he's been keeping quiet about. He's already on a pro contract, so it's harder to convince FIFA that the move isn't for "football reasons."
Yeah, it does sound a little funny given his age, the FIFA rules, and the fact we haven't heard of any lineage for a EU passport. However, the article was written by Grant Wahl so more than likely he did his homework and the sources and story is probably accurate. Side note, I confess I haven't see EPB play but a little birdy in the sky told me that he is very Eddie Pope-esque but for more polished than Eddie was entering UNC. Are the similarities?? Just on size and body composition they look damn near identical.
I found a few links to this story in the Italian press, but not one gives any indication that he has an EU passport.
Sorry, logic isn't allowed in this conversation. Trying to buy a 16 year old player that you can't bring into your team isn't very logical either.
Maybe they have a club agreement or could establish one? Isn't that that whole idea between these clubs forming alliances / partnerships?
Lucky kid now gets to rot for a couple of years in MLS instead of trying to develop at a great club! Sweet! When's his contract up?
I said this elsewhere, but I'll repeat it here: I'm glad that SKC rejected this. I'd rather he develop in his comfort zone in Kansas City for a few years before making a move. That Juventus made a bid that big for a kid who has never played a professional match says that he has a lot of potential, and the fact that he's 16 says that he has a lot of room to grow. That growth isn't going to be limited by being in MLS at this point in time. If they turn down a similar offer when he's 20, then I'll probably have some complaints. But for now, he's fine developing in Kansas.
Already chalking EPB up as the next "Adu" are we, by saying he'll get "stuck" in MLS?? Seriously, I don't know if Juve has always had a good academy / youth team but they turned out their fair share of 1st teamers recently like: Giovinco, Nocerino, Marchisio, and De Ceglie.
So Palmer-Brown has been at KC since he was 11 and apparently has been developed well enough to warrant an offer from Juve but folks are worried he won't develop if he stats at KC?
Any chance someone in the media writes an article about this (aside from Wahl) that goes a bit more in depth? I think it'd be interesting if someone did some digging and maybe interviewed EPB on why it was turned down. Certainly an interesting case...1M is more then Besler
1M is the bid to purchase his contract, not his salary. I'd imagine that Besler, if he were to go now, would garner more. But I get what you're saying.
getting prospects playing time when they are in the ages 16-19 has been a weakness in a our system for quite awhile now. They seem to be moving towards a solution with USL partnerships but its still not where it needs to be. SKC is partnered with OKC Energy. But how many games would this kid get? In A Euro system he is getting 50 games a year in a highly competitive environment.
Without an EU passport, he's not getting any games in Europe (outside of a few preseason/winter break friendlies) before he turns 18.
I am worried he will lose years while journeyman players get time and he is stuck on the bench or learning how to pull players jerseys in the usl. I think it's weird not to be worried.
It's pretty amazing at the number of kids that are being looked and scouted by big clubs all over the world. This explosion has literally happened almost over night
Yeah, because they never break the rules in Italy. First off, it's soccer. I have much bigger things to worry about. This I am just interested in. But let's see what KC does with him. He's only been a pro for a few months but they've developed him quite well, obviously, to this point. And KC has done so much right the past few years that they deserve the benefit of the doubt. If in October he hasn't played much for them or for OKC then we can reassess. But let's see what happens first. Finally, it should be noted that going to big clubs' academies is no panacea. If you're worried about him being blocked for minutes in KC, what do you think he's gonna face in Turin?
Grant seems to have a blind spot for this rule. When Freddy was first negotiating with MLS 10 years ago, Grant was reporting all this Euro interest as if there was a legit chance he was signing at ManU when the FIFA rules clearly prevented it. @superdave was all over it and said the kid could never play over there barring a rule change and he was right. Many of us, including myself, disagreed and were proven wrong.
You're better than this comment. Of course. I am expressing doubts. I am skeptical. This is not the same as being "certain". I don't know. Kind of like I don't know what he'll actually do in KC. And just as you suggest I shouldn't be cynical, I suggest the same to you. Really, you should change your screen-name. As long as we're sharing.