United States men's national team defender John Brooks has re-signed with Hertha Berlin after lengthy contract negotiations. All-in-all it's a smart move for the 23-year-old as it keeps him in a comfortable environment around a coaching staff that values him.

One interesting tidbit to emerge since his signing is that the biggest team in Germany were interested in signing him. According to TZ, Brooks was on the radar of Bayern Munich as a stopgap replacement for their defender injury crisis.

While this may seem like an amazing opportunity missed for the USMNT centerback let's sit back and assess.

With Jerome Boateng, Javi Martinez, and Mehdi Benatia all out injured currently there was a decent chance that Brooks would've gotten some playing time with the Bundesliga champions. However, what becomes of him when those players return? He likely is relegated to a 4th or 5th string option which just isn't appropriate for a player just entering his prime.

They eventually settled for signing Serdar Tasci on loan to fill their defensive needs until their stars return to fitness after Brooks re-upped with Hertha.

Bayern are a fantastic club, but sometimes consistent playing time is much more valuable than just signing with the best club possible. On the surface this move would've looked glamorous, but in the long run, staying with Hertha Berlin was the intelligent decision.

If you're John Brooks and Bayern Munich want you, you keep performing well and wait until they covet you as a starting player and not just a stopgap.

(h/t to Bavarian Football Works)