The Northern Ireland international says he is loving the feeling of playing every week with West Brom, insisting he needed to leave the Red Devils to kick on in his career
West Brom defender Jonny Evans says he has no regrets about leaving Manchester United.
Evans joined the Baggies last summer in search of more first-team football after becoming a bit-part player for the Red Devils in the previous campaign under Louis van Gaal.
The 28-year-old had been highly rated by former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, but he regularly struggled with injuries at Old Trafford before sliding down the pecking order under Van Gaal.
However, ahead of United's trip to the Hawthorns this weekend, Evans insists he doesn't look back on his injury-plagued spell with his former paymasters with sadness and says the timing was right for him to leave in August.
"I have to say, I have really enjoyed it," Evans told The Independent.
"When you are out of the team and not playing regularly, there is always that question in your head of, 'when am I going to play next?'
"I have enjoyed the feeling – players talk about it all the time – that Saturday feeling of going out and playing football, and that has been one of the biggest things.
"I had a fantastic time at United and I loved it, but there came a point when I had to make a decision. I wanted to play, wanted to show people what I could do.
"I have ambitions to become as good a centre-half as I can be and show people I can be as good a player as I can be and finish my career with no regrets."
Evans is unlikely to feature against United on Sunday as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
But whether he recovers in time to play or is watching from the sidelines, the Northern Ireland international will bear no grudges, insisting he has plenty of respect for Van Gaal.
"The manager obviously made the decision to let me go but, in the back of my head, I knew it was coming.
"But I had no qualms about his decision because I was already looking forward to a new chapter. I knew it was coming and I welcomed it, in a way.
"When he called me into his office at the end of last season and told me I could find another club, I just thought to myself that this is the time for me to start something fresh.
"Louis van Gaal is a fantastic coach and there is a lot of stuff I really liked under him.
"I feel fortunate that I have had the chance to work with him because I do think that myself, and every other player there, will have learned something from him."
- Goal