Sporting Kansas City spurns Juventus' bid for defender Erik Palmer-Brown

Sporting Kansas City turned down Juventus' bid for 16-year-old Erik Palmer-Brown. (Gary Rohman/Sporting KC)

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.

Palmer-Brown, a member of the U.S. Under-18 national team, was a homegrown signing for the MLS club last August. A resident of Lee’s Summit, Mo., he had been a member of the SKC youth academy since the age of 11.

After signing a pro contract at 16, Palmer-Brown began training with Kansas City’s senior team during the morning and studying at Archbishop O’Hara High in Kansas City, Mo., in the afternoon.

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Juventus, which currently sits in first place in Serie A, made its bid for the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Palmer-Brown after watching him play for U.S. youth national teams.

U.S. Under-20 coach Tab Ramos recently included Palmer-Brown in his team's training sessions for the first time.