John Brooks wants to play in the Premier League, but not yet
John Brooks wants to play in the Premier League one day. It's his dream to go to England, but the 23-year-old says he's happy to put off that dream to make something special happen at Hertha Berlin right now.
"I've always said that it's a dream of mine to play in England, but I have never said that it must be right now," Brooks told Kicker. "Something big is developing here in Berlin, I am under contract until 2019.
"Everything is going into the right direction, I have no pressure and I feel that I am in good hands with [manager] Pal Dardai."
Hertha were in the running for a Champions League place a year ago, but they went winless in their last seven and fell to seventh. They flashed their potential, but fell short at the end. Now they're hoping to finish the job and are fifth this season, just a point out of a Champions League spot.
Brooks is from Berlin and came up in the Hertha academy so he has strong ties to the club. He'll want to see them into the Champions League and not leave when they have something special going. But that probably won't keep him from chasing his dream of the Premier League one day.
Brooks has been a terrific defender in stretches, both for Hertha and the United States. He's had months where he looked like an excellent Bundesliga centerback and was the Americans' best player at Copa America Centenario. What he's struggled with is consistency. If he can play at his best with regularity, he'll do his part in getting Hertha into the Champions League and will have plenty of Premier League clubs after him too.
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