If reports are to be believed, Manchester City have managed to land American centre half Erik Palmer-Brown from Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. Getting the North American was one of the top priorities for the Sky Blues and they had to fight the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, AFC Ajax and PSV Eindhoven to get their hands on Palmer-Brown.
Despite injecting many young talents to their side this summer, Manchester City look to have a shaky and uncertain back line for sure. Vincent Kompany is already 31 and will not able to pull the whole season leading from the front, while Eliaquim Mangala clearly doesn’t enjoy Pep Guardiola’s confidence.
It is John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi that has been mostly relied upon by the manager so far in the central defence position. Of course, Guardiola’s ultra-fluid tactics mean that the manager plays Danilo and Fernandinho to fill in his experimental formations as and when needed. However, those adventurous changes are unlikely to work in the Premier League for too long..
Soon enough, Guardiola will have to get a set duo at the back. Despite sitting in the second position of the league table, City have conceded two goals from Everton and AFC Bournemouth against the flow of play, which Guardiola will need to rectify in the long run. And while 20-year-old Brown isn’t expected to break into the first team just after arrival, he has a high chance for sure.
Reportedly, he has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with Manchester City, who believe that the player could be the next big thing in the league. An Academy product of Sporting Kansas City, Brown broke into the first team in 2013 and at the time was the youngest player to do so. Three-years of development with the senior side saw FC Porto come calling in 2016 for the second of half of the season.
He was sent on to second division side Swope Park Rangers last March and has just returned back to SKC. He will leave the club at the end of the year when his contract expires. He is already a favourite in international colours leading the Under-20 side, which has limited his starts to just six this year
However, he has played full 90 minutes in four of his last seven matches and has been impressive. He led the side to capture the CONCACAF title for the first time in their history and was also eye catcher at this summer’s U-20 World Cup where the United States reached the quarter-finals.
So can he be an option for City this season?
