Erik Palmer-Brown joins Panathinaikos FC

Auston Trusty isn’t the only USMNT defender getting a move.

Center back Erik Palmer-Brown has joined Greek club Panathinaikos FC from Troyes. Troyes and Panathinaikos reached a $1.6M agreement for the Sporting KC academy product, who joins on a four-year deal.

Palmer-Brown, 26, has embarked on a nomadic journey since leaving Kansas City in 2017. The defender’s first taste of Europe was a loan spell with Porto B before English giants Manchester City and their vast scouting network snapped up the then-20-year-old.

He would never pull on a Man City shirt, instead being loaned to K.V. Kortrijk, NAC Breda, Austria Wien, and Troyes across his five seasons with the Premier League champions.

While traversing Europe, Palmer-Brown made his USMNT debut in 2018 and has since made four appearances.

His last loan spell with Troyes, a club in the City Football Group network, led to a permanent signing for the American. In his first full season with Troyes, Palmer-Brown could not help the French club stave off relegation from Ligue 1. In fact, Palmer-Brown was a fixture in a defense that conceded a league-worst 81 goals.

This is a move that benefits both parties, Troyes, who signed Palmer-Brown for free from their City Group partner, get a fee for a player they were keen to move on from. While the player facing the prospect of no top-flight soccer gets an opportunity with the reigning Greek Super League runner-ups.