The Dutch defender joined the U’s after leaving FC Utrecht, and has enjoyed previous spells with FC Twente and Udinese.

Having previously only played 15 minutes from the bench at Sunderland, ter Avest was handed a first start at right wing back as United switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation for the visit of Hull City.

The 27-year-old popped up at back post to score the only goal of the game 10 minutes into the second half, capping a strong performance at both ends of the pitch.

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U’s head coach Des Buckingham said: “If you look at Hidde’s CV, he’s played in Serie A and he’s recently played in the Eredivisie. He played at right wing back against Roma and Juventus, so he’s very capable going forward.

“That’s something we saw, but he’s also a very capable defender that we’ve been very fortunate to get from a very good level of football.

“He’s had to be patient, and that’s a credit to him. We spoke about the characters we want to bring into the building, but there’s also a recognition that if a player is playing well in front of you, it’s the same the other way, and if he was playing that way, he wouldn’t want to be taken out unless it was a rest or tactical.

“He’s got Peter Kioso who’s been in very good form and getting better game by game. He recognises that, and that’s important.”