Ex-Man United youngster: I proved you can move up once you leave Old Trafford

Tottenham defender Zeki Fryers could feature against his old club Manchester Unitedon New Years Day, and according to the Independent has no regrets about leaving Old Trafford. Fryers left the Red Devils in 2012, briefly moving to Belgian side Standard Liege before returning to the Premier League to join Tottenham, but claims that his development has improved since leaving Manchester.

“A lot of people say that when you leave Man United you go down. But for me, I feel like I have gone up, in terms of my development,” the 21-year-old said.

“There were a few options [when moving to Tottenham]. Spurs was the best for my improvement and development because of the staff there, such as Tim Sherwood, Chris Ramsey and Les Ferdinand. They are great coaches, they did a lot of work with me.”

“They helped me improve my game. They helped me get forward more, introducing something new to my game, becoming more of a modern full-back. Tim chats to you individually, he’s honest, and honesty is the main thing you need.”

Former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was unimpressed when Fryers moved to Spurs after just seven games in Belgium, claiming that Tottenham had manipulated compensation rules by signing from Liege rather than United. However Fryers assured reporters that there were no underhand dealings behind his brief stay in Belgium.

“There were always going to be accusations, obviously,” he said.

“I wanted a new adventure, really. There were certain things there that didn’t fall my way. And I thought it was time to move on. I felt that I wanted to be more regularly involved around the first team.

“I wanted to go abroad to further my career. Most foreign players come to England to play, but it’s rare that English people go abroad to play. So I thought I was going to go and try something new. I enjoyed it, it was a great experience.”

Despite the accusations, he insisted that there is no ill feeling between him and United, saying:

“I left some friends there and some of them are doing well, but that’s just football.”

“I spoke with [Sir Alex] and felt it was my time to leave. I didn’t say anything disrespectful to him and he didn’t disrespect me.”

Fryers started his first Premier League game at the weekend, and finished by admitting that he would love to prove a point to his old club.

“It’s a great feeling [to start], if I can get opportunities and play well then anything can happen.”

“Obviously, that [proving a point] would cross your mind. You want to start, especially against big teams like Man United. I’d love to start against my old club.”