Former Ajax defender Youri Regeer admits that the departure of Erik ten Hag to Premier League giants Manchester United was the beginning of the end of his time at the Eredivisie powerhouses.

Where would the Netherlands U20 international be, right now, if Erik ten Hag had rebuffed Manchester United's advances back in 2022?

Well, Still at Ajax, possibly.

Ten Hag, Youri Regeer tells Voetbal International, had big plans for him in the Dutch capital, and it was his departure - coupled with the subsequent appointment of Alfred Schreuder - which sparked a chain of events leading the talented young defender towards the exit.

"I regularly had good conversations with Ten Hag. I felt his confidence. He had a clear plan for me. (I played) a lot of matches at Jong Ajax, often deliberately as a right-back, so that I could further develop in that position and prepare for a place in the first team.

"Together, with Devyne Rensch, I could focus on that position and we had to fight it out together in the future."

Regeer eventually joined FC Twente in June, signing a four-year deal.

MORE UNITED STORIES

And the Haarlem-born youngster cannot help but wonder how differently things might have worked out for him had Ten Hag opted to stay at a club who have fallen off a cliff over the last 18 months or so, from Champions League semi-finalists to limping along near the bottom of the Eredivisie.

Dutch giants struggling without Ten Hag "(Schreuder) indicated that he did not see me as a right-back. That was honest and clear, but that changed (things) a lot. And I did not figure in his plans," adds Regeer, who has already featured 12 times in the Eredivisie for Twente.

"I noticed last season that the end of my time at Ajax was approaching. I played again for Jong Ajax but, where I previously played there very focused with an eye for development and growth towards the first-team, it now felt different."

With four wins in their last five games, a much-criticised Manchester United outfit are actually the form team in the Premier League as things stand. Though Sunday's trip to a fired-up Everton will post a serious test of the Red Devils' resurgence.