Gold Coast United captain Jason Culina believes youngster Tommy Oar's move from Brisbane Roar to the Dutch Eredivisie is a positive step.

The 18-year old winger has signed a five-year deal with FC Utrecht which will be the next step in what is turning out to be a promising career and his new Socceroos teammate Culina says it is a great move.

"Tommy is improving at a rapid pace and his move from Brisbane Roar to FC Utrecht will just take him to the next level," said Culina, who should know as he made a similar move from Sydney Olympic to Ajax in 1999.

"Of course he has a long road ahead of him but being involved with the squad again (his third call-up) will be a huge thing for him."