The 23-year-old centre-back broke into the Red Devils first-team under Louis van Gaal.

During the 2014-15 season, he made 11 Premier League appearances.

However, he struggled to nail down a place in the first-team and Jose Mourinho let him join the Royals.

Having signed a three-year deal at the Berkshire-based outfit last year, Blackett has flourished.

The 23-year-old says it was a wretch leaving his boyhood club, but he’s loving life at Reading.

He exclusively told Starsport: “You know, it’s one of those things. You don’t want to leave a big club like that.

“But for me personally I needed to take a step forward in terms of playing time, getting games and obviously under the right manager as well.

“So far things have worked out for me.”

Reading came tantalisingly close to returning to the Premier League last season.

However, they fell at the final hurdle and lost 4-3 on penalties to Huddersfield following a 0-0 stalemate in the Wembley showpiece.

The Royals have started the season sluggishly and are 20th in the Championship.

Despite their poor start to the season, Blackett says Jaap Stam - who won the Champions League with Manchester United - will fire them up the table.

“We got to the end [last season] but just couldn’t get over the line,” he added.

“He [Stam] is very good tactically and as a person.

“He’s a very humble person, but he knows what he’s doing on the pitch because obviously he’s been there before.

“He can be [tough] and isn’t afraid to say things but he understands a lot of situations and he’s here to help.”

Reading will lock horns with high-flying Leeds at Elland Road on Saturday.