Sean Steur has no regrets about his decision to swap Ajax for Newcastle United last summer. The Netherlands Under-21 midfielder is loving life in the Premier League, as he says in conversation with ESPN.
"Thankfully, I'm really enjoying myself," says the almost €30 million signing. "I'm happy. With how everything has gone, I can only look back on it with happiness. I feel very much at home there."
"The way football is experienced there is, of course, next level. I'm learning a great deal from that. I'm also still developing. I still can't keep it up for ninety minutes. So it still has to get better," Steur says, knowing he still has steps to take.
Swapping Ajax for England looked like a gamble. Right now, it is paying off. "That choice was made partly on instinct. It's difficult to explain, but it's mainly the feeling and the conviction they give you."
Although Steur seemed set to extend his contract in Amsterdam, he ultimately left Ajax. "At Ajax, an awful lot changed. Everyone could see that. I had some doubts about what my role would become. They opted for a lot of experience, which is fine."
"In the end, I think it was the best choice for me to go somewhere else. How the conversations (with Jordi Cruyff, ed.) went? I'll keep that to myself. But it was always handled in a respectful way," emphasises the Netherlands Under-21 international.
Now he has little contact with him. "I don't have much contact with him any more now. I wish Ajax and him all the very best. I'm happy too, so I made a good choice," Steur concludes, after winning 2-1 against Hull City on Saturday.