Erik Palmer-Brown was the original homegrown wunderkind at Sporting Kansas City prior to the meteoric rise of Gianluca Busio. EPB was born in Ohio but grew up in the Kansas City area, signing with SKC at the age of 16.
Palmer-Brown was reportedly the target of Juventus and other big clubs as a teenager, but Peter Vermes opted to hang onto the young defender despite giving him very minimal game time.
He debuted on May 18th, 2014, but went on to make just 20 total appearances for SKC over the next several seasons.
In 2017, he made a career high 10 appearances in MLS and also appeared in the US Open Cup. He was allowed to leave after 2018 on a free transfer to Manchester City and spent the next several years on loan before signing with Troyes of Ligue 1 where he has become a fixture in the lineup.
Palmer-Brown has also worked his way into the mix with USMNT and has made 4 appearances for his country.
EPB wore (or was issued) this shirt at some point in the 2017 MLS season. It features the NEAL patch after the passing of owner Neal Patterson to cancer.
Given the relatively small amount of matches that Erik Palmer-Brown played in, this is a pretty sweet addition to my collection.