 At age twelve he was scouted and recruited by FC Twente, where he played in various youth squads before joining the Academy.While playing for Twente's A1 squad, he impressed scouts from AFC Ajax and in the summer of 2005 he signed a two-year contract with the Amsterdam-based club and joined the selection of Jong Ajax.Although he was on the substitutes bench for several games, he was never able to make his full first team debut.