Sporting KC yet to reach transfer deals for Erik Palmer-Brown, Rafael van der Vaart

A month before his 18th birthday, Erik Palmer-Brown remains a member of his hometown club.

For now.

Sporting Club CEO Robb Heineman said earlier this month that Sporting Kansas City was nearing a deal to transfer Palmer-Brown to Italian club Juventus. But those talks appear to have stalled over the past few weeks.

“We’re still waiting on them to make a decision on the last offer we’ve provided,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said Monday. “They have a lot of other competitions going on at the moment, so this has just kind of been put on hold. It doesn’t mean anything is off or anything is completely on. It’s just at a bit of a standstill at the moment.”

Heineman had previously said the deal had an 80 percent chance of being completed, with a possibility that Juventus would loan Palmer-Brown back to Sporting KC until he is ready for significant minutes.

Palmer-Brown, who attends O’Hara High School, was called up to the U.S. under-20 men’s national team Sunday for its training camp this week in England.

No movement with Rafael van der Vaart

Vermes has maintained contact with Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart since flying overseas last month to meet with him, but there is no new movement toward a deal.

Vermes said Monday that he has exchanged text messages with van der Vaart, captain of German Bundesliga club Hamburg. If the two sides were to reach an agreement, the transfer would most likely occur during the summer window.

Vermes, Heineman and Mike Illig, part of the club’s ownership group, met with van der Vaart and his father in Germany last month.

“He’s definitely someone who is on our radar, for sure,” Vermes said. “But I would say there’s nothing happening at the moment.”

Krisztian Nemeth still day to day

Sporting KC forward Krisztian Nemeth is day-to-day after missing Saturday’s match with a tweak in his knee.

Vermes classified the injury as minor and expects Nemeth to return to the lineup over the next couple of weeks.

This story was originally published March 23, 2015 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Sporting KC yet to reach transfer deals for Erik Palmer-Brown, Rafael van der Vaart."