After a summer of speculation, defender Erik Palmer-Brown has completed another loan move away from parent club Manchester City, this time joining newly promoted Ligue 1 club Troyes for the upcoming season.
Palmer-Brown spent the previous two seasons in a largely successful spell with Austrian Bundesliga team Austria Wien, and as a result will have the chance to take a much-needed step up in competition in the French top-flight.
Troyes confirmed the loan on their website, stating “ESTAC is pleased to announce the arrival in its workforce of Erik Palmer-Brown. Coming from Manchester City, the 24-year-old center-back is on loan at the Trojan club until June 2022.”
The former Sporting Kansas City player will have his work cut out for him with his new team, and will have plenty of chances to show his mettle as a defender. Troyes currently sit last in Ligue 1, with only a single draw from their first four games, although their defense has allowed a respectable seven goals during that stretch.
The team’s most impressive performance might have been in their season-opening loss to league powerhouse PSG, where they managed to even jump to an early lead, before conceding a pair of goals shortly thereafter in a closer-than-expected 2-1 loss. Nevertheless, last season’s Ligue 2 champions are favorites to end up in the division’s relegation places, and will likely see their fate decided on how well they can minimize damage at the back and sneak the occasional win.
Troyes head coach Laurent Batlles has settled on formations based around three central defenders, with the most frequent trio thus far being team captain Jimmy Giraudon, veteran Yoann Salmier and Oualid El Hajjam.
This trio was also made the bulk of starts in the team’s successful 2020-21 Ligue 2 campaign, so the young American will certainly have an initial fight on his hands to see regular minutes on the field.
With nearly two weeks to practice with his new team, Palmer-Brown will have his first shot at seeing the field when they visit FC Metz after the international break.
Palmer-Brown had been rumored to be joining a pair of other Americans – Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann – in Italian Serie A club Venezia, however that transfer lost steam during the last week of the soon-closing transfer window, opening the door for the Manchester City affiliate Troyes to secure the last-minute loan move.
