Sporting Kansas City announced Monday that the club has loaned 18-year-old defender Erik Palmer-Brown to FC Porto in Portugal for the remainder of 2016.

“We feel this is a good move for both Erik and the club,” Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes said. “Over the years, we have formed a good relationship with Porto and we see this as a great opportunity to further Erik’s development as a player and person.”

Palmer-Brown has played 13 matches for Sporting Kansas City in all competitions since signing as the club’s third Homegrown Player in August 2013. He made his Sporting KC debut in May 2014, becoming the club’s youngest player to appear in a competitive match (17 years, 24 days) and the youngest defender to start an MLS match.

Palmer-Brown has also appeared in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League in addition to starting each of the last two Chipotle MLS Homegrown Games.

FC Porto is one of Europe’s most successful soccer clubs, having won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (1987, 2004) and UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League (2003, 2011) twice each. The Portuguese side has lifted 27 league titles, 16 domestic cups and finished in the top three of the Primeira Liga every year since 1976-77.

A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Palmer-Brown joined the Sporting KC Academy at age 13 and attended the prestigious U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida. He has featured for United States youth national teams at the U-15, U-17, U-18 and U-20 levels, recently competing at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup last June and captaining the U-20s for the Stevan Vilotic-Cele Tournament last September.

At the end of last season, Palmer-Brown was selected to MLSsoccer.com’s “24 under 24” rankings, an annual list highlighting the best young MLS players. In January, ESPNFC named him among the U.S. national team’s top 21 players under age 21.

Transaction: Sporting Kansas City (MLS) loans Erik Palmer-Brown to FC Porto (Portugal).