Anyone with ESPN Insider?

Sporting Kansas City typically makes its players available for interviews on weekday mornings during the MLS season. But for almost two years now, there has been one notable exception. If a reporter wants to talk to Erik Palmer-Brown, SKC's 17-year-old man-child of a center back, then he or she must wait until closer to 4 p.m. -- after the high school senior finishes his final class of the day.

Palmer-Brown, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound Ohio native, has been juggling homework and professional soccer ever since he became the youngest player in club history when he signed in 2013.

Now, his on-field education is about to become accelerated, perhaps beginning with this weekend's match at FC Dallas.

With Matt Besler suspended for Saturday's game due to the red card in last week's season opener, "there's a chance he could start" in the U.S. World Cup defender's place, coach Peter Vermes told Insider on Wednesday.

"I feel like the last two years have been preparing me for this moment," Palmer-Brown said. "The coaches have told me if somebody is away or there's injuries then they're confident in me, which makes me more confident. I'm happy with the way I've been playing."

Palmer-Brown cracked Vermes' lineup twice last summer when Besler was away with the Yanks. He struggled mightily in his debut, getting pulled in the second half, but went the distance and helped his team keep a clean sheet in his second appearance. So is he ready to take the next step in his development?

"He's definitely gotten better," Besler said in a phone interview this week. "He asserts himself. Before, he was a player who just didn't want to make a mistake. That's expected. Now, he's matured. He's assertive off the field and on. He's not afraid to step into a challenge."

Still, the reason Italian titan Juventus has been monitoring him for the past two years -- the Kansas City Star reported last week that Serie A's runaway leader was on the verge of completing his signing -- has more to do with where Palmer-Brown's game might be down the road, as opposed to where it is today.

With size, quickness, soccer IQ and a soft touch with both feet (he's a natural righty), his upside is obvious.

"Physically, he's excellent," Vermes said. "He has great recovery speed, he's good in the air, he's strong, he's confident on the ball, and he reads the game well. He has all the qualities to become a very good central defender."

Still, both Besler and Vermes were quick to caution that Palmer-Brown is far from the finished product. Like many young defenders, he can still be too aggressive at times. And while he more than holds his own in training sessions and scrimmages, getting reps in games that count will be crucial to his continued growth -- one reason Juventus, if it completes the deal, is expected to immediately loan him back to Sporting until he's ready to head overseas.

"I think the part of the game that he's trying to work on the most is the speed of play and the speed of thought," Besler said. "But he's taken that challenge head on, and that's a very good sign. His willingness to learn is there. I just think he needs to take advantage of every opportunity and experience that he gets."

By all accounts, the youngster is level-headed, with a maturity that matches his physical gifts.

"The way he reacts to things, good or bad, it's like he's 30," said Orlando City center back Aurelien Collin, a former teammate. "I have a lot of respect for him. I know he's going to be very successful."

First, though, he has to graduate from high school, which he's scheduled to do in May. Besler, the KC captain, and the rest of his teammates are making sure he doesn't slip up at the final hurdle.

"Right now the locker room is trying to make sure he gets his schoolwork done, because graduating is important to him, and now it's become important to us, too," Besler said. "He's almost like one of our brothers. We care about him. He's earned that respect."

That's Palmer-Brown's goal, too, even if he's on the cusp of a deal with one of the world's most storied teams -- a move U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann told ESPN would only accelerate his growth.

"It's awesome that a club as big as Juventus showed interest in me -- it really gives me confidence -- but right now I just want to make my mom proud and walk across that stage with my friends," Palmer-Brown said.

After that, a spot with the U.S. under-20 team at this summer's World Cup in New Zealand is in the cards (he missed the Yanks' qualifying campaign earlier this year because of injury), where he could be paired with Cameron Carter-Vickers, another imposing, blue-chip center back. Not that Palmer-Brown is looking that far ahead.

"My mom has always drilled into me that focusing on now will help me prepare for what happens later," he said.

For one of the brightest prospects in American soccer, that future appears to be limitless.

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Thanks a bunch man

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No problem.

Just an FYI, I don't know how often they do it, but a couple of months ago ESPN had a deal on Insider where it was $10 for 6 months. It may have only been a one time thing, but it was definitely too good to pass up lol.