Wigan Athletic old-boy rejoins Gary Caldwell at Exeter City

The Dutchman, who turns 33 in November, recently parted company with Oxford United, after an injury-plagued season there.

He joins Exeter as a free agent, and is hopeful of earning a longer stay on the south coast.

"It felt like the perfect move for me," he told Exeter's official website.

"I always stayed in touch with Gary, and obviously he was my manager when I played my best football in England.

"I'm happy to be playing under him again and it feels good.

"When we were at Wigan, we had a lot of time for each other - he looked after me, I looked after him.

"As a manager and as a person, I hold him in very high regard.

"He told me he wants me to be scary for the opposition, help the team, help the young players...obviously I'm a bit older now so I am in a position to do that."

Wildschut joined Latics at the beginning of the 2015/16 season, after being spotted by Graham Barrow on a rare outing for Middlesbrough.

He was named in the PFA team of the year as Latics won the League One title, and was picked off by Norwich City for £7million in January 2017 - ensuring a tidy £6million profit in the space of less than 18 months.

After loan spells at Cardiff and Bolton, he moved to Israel to join Maccabi Haifa, before a switch to Bulgaria and CSKA Sofia.

Wildschut returned to England last summer to join Oxford, for whom he made 23 appearances after missing virtually the first half of the campaign.

He will wear the No.13 shirt, as Exeter is his 13th club, and he has a pragmatic approach about the connotations of the number.

"I saw it was available, and I'm going to try to put the luck into unlucky,” laughed the Surinam international.

"It's a new number for me, but it spoke to me and told me it's going to be a good match."

Caldwell said: "I'm delighted to have Yanic as he's someone I've signed before.

"He was sensational for us and we had some good moments together, which means the bond lasts a lifetime.

"The opportunity came about in the midst of our injury crisis and I spoke to Yanic and it felt like fate that we could get him in.

"He's played in a variety of positions and he will provide pace and power to the front line.

"I get on really well with him and I know how to get the best of him. He is a wide player that we can ask to be aggressive and take risks, and we will give him the belief."

Another of Wildschut’s former Latics colleagues in the League One title-winning side, David Perkins, is on Caldwell’s Exeter coaching staff.

Latics are due at Exeter for a League One clash on Saturday, October 21.